Gory Gory What a Hell of a Way to Die!
by immortalrmy
Summary: Adriana Roosevelt is a special 18 year old. Not just because she has a special father, but because she would rather join Easy company than become a housewife. She knows she has what it takes, but does anyone else believe her? Luz/OC
1. The President

**_So new story! yay! I hope you enjoy!_**

"Father, Father!"

"What is it Adriana?" her father asked.

"I just heard about Pearl Harbor! It's awful. Father what are we going to do about it? Will you declare war on who did it?"

Franklin Roosevelt opened his arms to his daughter who ran to him.

"Yes my darling. We will."

"I knew you would. I want to help."

Roosevelt pulled his daughter to arms length and looked in her eyes.

"What do you mean my child?"

"I want to go to wherever the fight is and help."

"You mean as a nurse," he said thinking he understood.

"No father. I want to fight. I want to learn how to shoot and fight!"

Roosevelt was taken aback by her excitement for the war.

"That isn't allowed," he said lost for any other words.

"Who says?" Adriana asked. "Father you are the Commander in Chief! They will do what you say!"

"Adri, I appreciate your attitude and wanting to help the cause, but you should do it from here, or as a nurse at an aid station. I don't want you fighting."

"Bur father, you fought in a war. I want to help my country like you did. I want to fight for something! I want to be a part of something bigger than myself! If I was a boy would you stop me?"

Roosevelt looked into his daughter's eyes and saw the same spark he once had for war. The spark he had for his country. She was right. He would not stop her if she was one of her brothers. She knelt in front of him so she was eye level with him.

"Father, please give me a chance to prove I can do it."

He thought for a moment then he smiled.

"Adriana, you are my blood. I know you can do it. If this is what you really want, I will make some calls. You would like to train with the army?"

A smile then graced her soft features.

"Not just the army father. I want to be with best. The 101st airborne, Easy Company Paratroopers."

Roosevelt smiled and tussled her hair.

"Why do you know so much about the war and its companies?"  
"It interests me father. Thank you so much. I will make you proud."

Roosevelt pulled her into a tight hug and a tear fell from his eye.

"You already have my daughter. You already have."

**Six Weeks Later**

Captain Sobel had just finished yelling at some runner for being late when another runner came up to him.

"Captain Sobel."

The kid saluted then continued his message.

"Colonel Sink wants to see you sir."

Sobel nodded and saluted after the kid saluted him then went to Sink's office.

"Colonel Sink?" he said at the door.

"Enter," Sink said.

Sobel did and saluted the Colonel who saluted back. Sobel noticed a short man standing in the corner, but didn't think much of him, but apparently Sink did.

"Captain Sobel this is Adrian Roosevelt. He has just been transferred to your company. He wants to be a paratrooper. Adrian, this is Captain Sobel."

Adriana saluted Sobel.

"Nice to meet you sir."

Sobel shook her hand and said, "Roosevelt? As in Franklin Roosevelt?"

"Yes sir. He is my father."

Before Sobel had a chance to say anything about that, Sink ushered them out of his office saying he needed to do some paperwork. He wished Adriana luck then shut his tent flap. Sobel started to lead her to the barracks then turned to face her when they were far enough away from Sink's tent that he wouldn't be heard.

"Do you think you are special because your daddy is the commander in chief?" he asked getting very close to her face.

"No sir, quite the opposite. I don't want any special treatment because of that fact."  
"Good," Sobel said. "Because you will not be getting any."

He stayed in her personal space for a few seconds longer then pointed off in the direction to her left.

"The barracks are that way," he said then left.

It took her a second to recover from his rude behavior, but she managed then turned for the barracks. When she got there she almost got hit in the face with a rolled up sock.

"Oh easy Luz you almost hit the new guy!" said a guy who wore a goofy grin as he practically skipped up to her.

"Hey new guy. My name is Muck," he stuck out his hand to Adriana.

"Adrian," she said and shook his hand.

"That asshole who almost took off your nose is George Luz. He doesn't have the best aim."

"It's alright. I just got yelled at by our Captain."

"Oh so you met that sorry excuse for a soldier," a large guy with a southern accent asked.

"Yeah he basically kissed me he was so close to my face."

"He is good at that," a tall, lanky guy said nodding to a cot next to his. "This one is open."

Adriana tossed her stuff down and sat heavily.

"Well let me introduce you to everyone," Muck offered.

He started with the guy sitting across from her.

"This here is-"

"Skip I can introduce myself," he said. "Joe Liebgott," he said and shook Adriana's hand.

Muck continued on down the line of people.

"That red haired boy over there is Malarkey, and yeah he knows it means bullshit, so don't say anything."

Malarkey aimed a boot at his head but missed.

"Next we have Perconte, then you already met George Luz, and that there is Bull Randleman. Then Bill Guarnere, Joe Toye, John Martin, Shifty Powers, Floyd Talbert and Webster."

"David Webster," he said correcting Muck.

"Yeah whatever college boy," Guarnere said.

"At least my nickname is not a sexually transmitted disease. Gonorrhea," Web shot back, and the room laughed.

"So do I get a cool nickname?" Adrianna asked.

"Oh trust me, if you're here long enough, you will get one," Perconte said.

"Often times it just ends up being some form of the person's last name," Web said.

"You see when you use words like 'often times' that is what gets you the nickname college boy," Malarkey said slapping Web's back then he looked at Adriana. "What is your last name?"

Adriana thought about lying for a few seconds but didn't have time to decide.

"Let's go boys on your feet! Sobel wants us all out for a weapon's check!" someone said bursting through the door.

There were groans throughout the group of men but they quickly grabbed their weapons and trotted outside. Adriana followed, making a point to meet Lipton on the way out.

"Adrian Roosevelt," she said shaking his hand.

"Cartwood Lipton," he said. "Good to have a new face. Watch out for Sobel though. He has the tendency to be a little rude."

"I know what you mean. He is the one Sink introduced me to."

"Well then you know you better get out there or he will have both our asses."

Adriana nodded and ran out to where the men were lined up at attention. She slipped in next to Liebgott, Toye and Martin. Liebgott smiled at her just before Sobel came yelling around a building. Everyone stiffened up as he yelled about them not being at attention.

Although she had not been at Camp Toccoa for more than ten minutes, she knew enough to do what the other men were doing. They stood patiently as Sobel paced back and forth until he spotted Perconte. He dashed over to him and yelled.

"Private Perconte have you been blousing your trousers over your boots like a paratrooper?"

"No sir," Perconte replied.

"Then explain the creases at the bottom."

Perconte had no answer because from what I could see, his trousers were not creased at all.

"No excuse sir," he said after a moment hesitation.

"Volunteering for the parachute infantry is one thing Perconte, but you have a long way to go before you prove you belong here. Your weekend pass is revoked."

Adriana couldn't see his face but from the way his back tensed she knew he was pissed. Sobel immediately moved on to Luz. Adriana would later find out that when he was around Sobel was the only time Luz was quiet and meek.

Sobel took Luz's gun and inspected it for three seconds before he said, "Dirt in the rear sight aperture. Pass revoked."

Luz let out a quiet sigh as Sobel moved on down the line. He stopped at Martin for half a second who stopped breathing until he moved on. He glanced at Bull then turned his attention to Lipton. Adriana figured he was safe because he was a Sergeant but she soon found he wasn't. No one seemed to be safe from the rath of Sobel.

"When did you sew on these chevrons Sergeant Lipton?" he asked pulling at something on his sleeve.

"Yesterday sir," Lip answered.

"Long enough to notice this," Sobel said holding up a string. "Revoked."

As Sobel walked away, I saw Lip glare at him out of the corner of his eye for half a second before returning his gaze forward. Sobel made his way over to Malarkey.

"Malarkey, Donald G," Malarkey said.

"Malarkey that is slang for bullshit isn't it?" Sobel asked snatching his gun from him.

"Yes sir," Malarkey answered.

Sobel looked over the weapon, then shoved Malarkey's gun in his face.

"Rust on the butt plate hinge spring private bullshit, revoked," he said while tossing his gun at him.

As Sobel walked away Muck glanced over his shoulder and gave Malarkey a worried glance the quickly turned back to attention.

"Name," Sobel was saying.

"Liebgott, Joseph D, sir."

Liebgott held up his gun, but Sobel seemed to know what he was going for. He pulled his bayonet.

"Rusty bayonet. You want to kill Germans Liebgott?" Sobel asked.

"Yes sir," Liebgott answered.

"Not with this," Sobel answered smacking Liebgott on the helmet with the knife.

Sobel continued as he walked back up in front of everyone.

"I wouldn't take this rusty piece of shit to war and I will not take you to war in your condition. Now thanks to these men and their infractions, every man in the company who had a weekend pass has lost it."

Suddenly his gaze was trained right on Adriana. He came up to her and said, "Name."

"Roosevelt, Adrian," she said swinging her gun around and opening it.

"Roosevelt," Sobel scoffed. "Is that Roosevelt like our President, Franklin. Delenore. Roosevelt?"

The last part he said loud and slow enough for the entire camp to hear.

"Yes sir he is my father," she said.

He seemed to mull that over for a second before he pulled on her helmet strap.

"Loose helmets will fall off in war Private. You don't want that now do you?"

"No sir," she answered.

"Then fix it private," he said. "Don't think the Germans will go easy on you because you are the President's son. I sure as hell won't."

"I wouldn't want you to sir," Adriana said.

Sobel was silent for a second then said, "Change into your PT gear. We are running currahee."

_**Okee everyone! tell me what you think!**_

_**Next chapter: CURRAHEE!**_


	2. Lt Adriana Roosevelt

_**I must warn you all right now that this chapter has about as much swearing as the movie. I know its only rated T but I just wanted everyone to know ahead of time that this chapter might be a little more. Ok enjoy!**_

Adriana didn't know what Currahee was, but by the looks on the men's faces, she knew it couldn't be anything good. Sobel stalked off and who Adriana assumed was their Lieutenant turned around and addressed them.

"2nd Platoon fall out. You have two minutes."

The men all turned on their heels and jogged back to the barracks, and Adriana followed them. She wasn't sure what her plan was for not letting the men find out she was a woman, but she was going to try her hardest. Luckily she already had PT gear on under her uniform. The one thing she was worried about was her chest. It wasn't exactly small. She had it wrapped with bandages, but she wasn't sure it was enough so she wore her jacket.

As she was deciding this, Perconte said, "I ain't going up that hill. Not again."

"What is Currahee?" Adriana asked.

"The Fucking biggest hill I have ever seen," Perconte answered as Martin slammed the door open and stormed in the room.

"Hey Perconte what are you thinking? Blousing your pants."

Martin sounded disgusted.

"Shut up Martin alright? He got everybody," Perconte hissed defensively.

"Yeah well you should know better! Don't give him no excuses!"

"EXCUSES!" Perconte stood up. "Why don't you come over here, look at these trousers, get down, and you tell me if there is a crease on them!"

Adriana was afraid it would come to blows, but thankfully Lipton entered the room at that moment telling them to get moving. Perconte just stood there glaring off at the south wall so Lipton was forced to tell him to move his butt.

As they walked down the gravel road some boys from Able Company were dressed ready to go out on their weekend pass and were taunting the Easy boys because of it. Easy began to run and pushed through the group of Able boys, knocking some of their hats off and even knocking one to the ground. They continued their run, and when they got to Currahee, Adriana really believed Sobel had been joking when he said six miles in thirteen minutes, but Luz warned her, he wasn't.

Adriana had always liked running, but nothing she had ever done compared to this. The gravel shifted unpredictably under their feet, and when it was uphill, it was not just uphill. It was an 80% slope in some places. Sobel shouting the whole time didn't help anyone either.

"What do we run?"

"Currahee!"

"And what does Currahee mean?"

"We stand alone!"

"How far up? How far down?"

"Three miles up, three miles down!"

Adriana didn't know the correct responses, but quickly learned. Not that she could have yelled at the top of her lungs even if she wanted to. She was already exhausted.

"What company is this?"

"EASY COMPANY!"

"And what do we do?"

"Stand alone!"

As they went, poor Muck caught, and twisted his leg in a pothole. As Malarkey tried to help him, Sobel jumped on him and yelled something about not helping him or stopping for him or anyone.

"You have thirteen minutes to get to the top of this mountain if you want to be in the paratroopers! HIGH HO SILVER!"

"Doesn't he… have an… off button?" Adriana panted to Luz.

"Nope," he answered simply.

"Great," she sighed.

She tried to breathe deeply, but she found it was impossible. Luckily Liebgott was running behind her so if she slowed down to much he could give her a little nudge. She thought they would all be annoyed with how slow she was going, but Luz, Liebgott and Bull seemed very happy to help her when she needed it. A horrible thought went through her mind. Did they know? She turned suddenly to look at Luz then Bull, but neither seemed to know anything so she let it slip from her mind.

Twenty minutes later Winters made it up to the top and stood encouraging the next six or seven people coming up. Adriana was right behind Perconte but tripped and almost tripped Luz. All he did was snake his arms under hers and lift her back to her feet. He seemed like he had done that before. He basically pushed her rest of the way to the top where Sobel was yelling about 23 minutes not being good enough for easy company.

The next few weeks were a pain in the butt, although she could say she had new brothers. Adriana could feel any extra fat she had melting off. When she was alone in the barracks, which almost never happened she would look at herself in the small mirror over the door and marvel at how her body had thinned out, not that she was fat before, but all of the extra weight had been replaced by muscle. Her arms and back were surprisingly tense, and her stomach was becoming more defined. If she could thank Sobel for anything, it was making them run Currahee as many times as they did in a week. She knew from discreetly watching the men in her barrack change that they were feeling the effects of their hard training as well. Malarkey in particular had a wonderfully built upper body. She could stare at him for hours if she let herself, but she didn't because she was supposed to be a man. Luz and Liebgott were less muscular than Malarkey, but they were also appealing, and Luz was funny as hell. Liebgott was sarcastic and charming.

The one time they had weekend passes, Adriana watched carefully how all the men interacted with women they met. Luz rarely even got looked at by women. Adriana felt bad for him, but he either didn't mind or he was good at hiding it with his humor. Liebgott was charming but quiet. Women enjoyed the mystery about him. Surprising to Adriana, because she was with them every second of every day, they were all incredibly respectful. Even when they got some liquor in them, they were complete gentlemen.

"So your daddy is the President," Guarnere said one night when they were supposed to be asleep. "Must be nice."

"And why must it be nice?" Adriana asked.

"You grew up in the White House. You probably got everything you ever wanted. Yah Prick."

Apparently she had been wrong about all men being gentlemen when they were drunk.

"Are you fucking kidding me Guarnere?"

By now the whole room was awake and Martin had hit the lights. Adriana was up off her cot and shoving Guarnere off of his before the light was on. He hit the ground and in a flash she was on top of him. She landed a few good punches to his jaw and one in his stomach before he roller her over. Her head hit the ground hard making lights pop before her eyes. Guarnere was on top of her before she could see clearly and he landed a punch in her face and chest. She let out a strangled scream as his fist landed on her chest again. Malarkey was the only one who grasped the situation and he dove on Guarnere. The rest jumped in and managed to subdue him but he was still yelling.

"You think you're special because you're the president's fucking son! Don't kid yourself this is Fucking war! You are going to DIE you little prick!"

Adriana was panting and holding her chest but she glared up at him.

"I'm not… the President's son. I'm his… FUCKING DAUGHTER!" she yelled and stood up ripping the bun out of her hair.

Her brown hair fell to the middle of her back and everyone who was touching her stepped back like she was a contagious disease.

"Holy shit," was Muck's first reaction.

"God damn Guarnere. You just beat up a broa- I mean a lady," Liebgott said touching her back. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Adriana hissed and shrugged his hand off aggressively. "I tried to be a man so no one would treat me differently, but men are just PIGS!" she spit the last word.

She then advanced on Guarnere and put her face two inches away from his.

"And it really doesn't matter because even though I'm a woman, I get to stay and become a Paratrooper, because my daddy says so."

"Get the hell out of my face," Guarnere said pulling against Malarkey's grasp.

"Make me," she said leaning closer.

He said nothing so she pulled back and spit at his feet.

"Pig," she said as she went back to her bunk. "What are you staring at? Haven't you ever seen a woman before?" she asked Luz as his mouth hung open.

"Turn off the light before it wakes up the C-" but Martin was interrupted by the door slamming open.

"What the hell is going on in-" but Sobel stopped mid sentence when he saw Adriana.

Winters, Nixon and Lipton were there as well staring over Sobel's shoulder at her.

"What the hell is a woman doing in my barracks?" he shouted.

No one really knew what to say so they all looked at one another.

"And why does she have a black eye?" Winter's asked at a lower volume stepping into the room where he got a better look at her. "Roosevelt?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she answered.

"You're a-"

"Woman, yes sir. My name is Adriana. Adriana Roosevelt."

"Does your father know you are going to be shot for this?" Sobel asked grabbing her arm and dragging her from the room.

All the men, including Guarnere began protesting but Winter's told them to stay put.

"I'll figure this out," he assured them when Sobel was out of earshot.

"Sir," Malarkey grabbed his arm and Winter's turned to face him and the rest of the men.

Malarkey looked back at everyone in the room for help. Finally it was Guarnere who spoke.

"Don't let them shoot her Lt."

Winters looked between all their faces. They were worried, Guarnere especially.

"I won't. You guys just stay put," Winter's said with a knowing smile, and then he dashed out the door after Sobel and Adriana.

He caught up to them.

"Permission to speak sir?" he asked.

"Denied," Sobel said speeding up.

"Sir please, let's think about this for-"

"There is nothing to think about Lt. This woman pretended to be a man and joined my Company and should pay the price for it."

"But sir-"

"Don't speak Lt." Sobel hissed as he entered Col. Sink's tent.

"Colonel!" Sobel shouted.

"Why in God's name are you waking me up at this hour Captain? There better be a damn good reason," Sink said emerging from the back part of the tent.

"This is the reason," Sobel said throwing Adriana forward.

She landed on her knees with a sickening crack although she didn't cry out.

"This woman pretended to be a man and joined my Company and-"

"Sir if I may speak on her behalf," Winter's interjected.

"No you may not Lt.!" Sobel yelled rounding on him.

"I don't believe he was talking to you Captain Sobel," Sink said glaring at him. "You may speak Lt. Winters."

Winters stepped forward and helped Adriana off the ground.

"Sir Adriana has excelled in everything she has done. In all the training, running Currahee included, she has been one of the best out of everyone. I was going to recommend a promotion to Sergeant to Captain Sobel tomorrow in fact. She has shown great compassion for the men and great leadership skills. I do not think any of that should be changed because we found out she is a woman."  
Winters watched Sink carefully to make sure he didn't overstep his bounds, but all the old man did was smile.

"Lt. Winters, I must agree with you. Not only because you made a very convincing case for her, but because her father wants her here. Although I want her promoted to Lt. Not Sergeant."

"But sir!" Sobel almost yelled.

"You overstep your bounds, Captain Sobel. The President called me personally to tell me his daughter would be joining us. She wanted to act like a man so no one would treat her differently. She will continue her training and get her jump wings with everyone else. Is that clear Captain Sobel?"

Adriana and Winters turned their attention to Sobel whose mouth was open about an inch.

"Is. That. Clear. Captain Sobel?" Sink asked slowly.

He gulped twice to regain his voice and nodded.

"Yes sir."

"Good. And I will have dog tags with your birth given name on them to you tomorrow," he motioned to Adriana and held out his hand to Winters.

Winters took from him the gold bar that stood for 2nd Lt.

"Now everyone get out of my office. It is too damn early for this shit."

They all walked outside silently then Sobel turned to them both.

"Seeing as your 2nd Lt. now you will stay with the officers in their barracks."

"Sir I would like to stay with the men."

"No. you will be with the officers. No go on. Big day tomorrow. Lots to do."

Sobel looked like he was about to crack. Or maybe he already had. As he walked away he pulled out his side arm and shot something on the ground then continued walking.

"What is wrong with him?" Adriana asked Winters.

"He must not like women very much," Winters answered as he put her new yellow Lt. bar on her collar.

"Maybe its women in power," she suggested.

Winters shrugged and glanced over her shoulder.

"You should get back to the men. You can switch to our barracks tomorrow night. They seem to like you. Even Guarnere."

He nodded toward the building. Adriana turned around to see all of them standing on the grass outside.

"Guarnere only likes me because I can hit as hard as he can," Adriana scoffed.

"Well whatever the reason, you are his superior now. You are all their superiors. Get back there and tell them the good news."

"Yes sir," she said then saluted.

Winters nodded and headed for his barracks, and Adriana headed for the mob of men by hers.

**_Yay! ok now your turn! review!_**


	3. George Luz

_**Thank you so much to my reviewers! All except an anonymous titled 'Seriously'. If you don't like the story don't read it. It is very simple. But don't leave rude, unproductive reviews. Especially if you're going to be a chicken about it and not even leave your real name. But for everyone else who reviewed thanks!**_

It seemed like forever before Adriana made it back over to the men, but when she got to them, they all looked relieved she was alive. Malarkey answered her unspoken question.

"We all heard the gunshot and thought- Well we didn't want you to-"

"It would have been my fault if you got killed," Guarnere said apologetically.

Adriana smiled and put a hand out to him. He looked up into her face waiting for some kind of reprimand or something but it never came. Adriana came closer to him and took his hand in hers.

"I would have told eventually. And anyway it got me a promotion."

They all looked up surprised. She showed them the shiny gold bar on her collar.

"Well no fucking way. You passed Sergeant all together?" Malarkey asked.

"Hell yeah," she said with a smile. "And it was all because of you Guarnere."

"Well I'm glad I could help."

"Well boys Winters wants us all back in bed yesterday so better get on in there."

There was a chorus of 'yes ma'ams' as they entered, most of them sarcastic and Adriana stopped Guarnere. He was quite a bit taller than her so she had to look up to see his face.

"Listen Guarnere. Earlier was stupid and childish on my part. I'm sorry I started it."

"You didn't. I did. I was still a little drunk. I had no right to say what I did."

"I guess you sort of just struck a chord with me. I have always hated being thought of as a spoiled brat who always got everything she wanted because she was the President's daughter. It has never sat well with me. I guess you just bring out the worst in me Guarnere," she said with a smile.

"Hey I'll always be around to do so," he joked.

"Yeah, yeah get in there gonorrhea," Adriana said gently pushing him into the barracks.

That night was the first full night of sleep Adriana had in a long while. The next morning however, Sobel was back to his old self, but with a new, very loud hatred for Adriana. Also the next few days were filled with questions about how a woman such as herself got into the airborne, how she had managed to get through the training, and there was even an impromptu marriage proposal from George Luz.

"Adriana Anne Roosevelt, will you be my wife?" he asked kneeling and holding out an invisible ring.

"Why yes kind sir! I would be honored to marry you!"

Luz put the 'ring' on her finger then jumped up, picked her up and swung her around in mock celebration. After he put her down she chuckled and said, "Honestly I have no idea why I'm a Lt. I really would just rather be here with you guys."

"Well you're a Lt. You can do what you want right? Just come back here," Toye replied as he was cleaning his side arm.

"I can't just come back. Sobel is already giving me enough shit for being here in the first place. You know I have been overseeing latrine duty for two weeks now? That man has a sick so far up his ass its coming out the top of his head," Adriana grumbled. "But on the bright side, I can tell you guys what to do!"

She lightly hit Perconte on the back of the head.

"And their ain't nothing you can do about it," she said as Perconte acted like he was going to hit her back.

He chuckled and she sat heavily on the cot next to Malarkey. He looked at her with worry in his face.

"What's going on Malark?" she asked.

"How are you?" he asked her.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Malarkey looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then lifted her sleeve to reveal a rather large bruise shaped like a hand. Malarkey looked back into her eyes.

"Is someone hurting you?" he asked carefully.

Adriana couldn't stop herself from laughing. It was sweet of Malarkey to look out for her. He looked confused at her sudden outburst.

"Well if you call Captain Sobel someone. That was the night he found out I was a woman and dragged me out of here. My knees are cut up to because he threw me onto the gravel," she said pulling up her trouser leg to show him.

"Damn," he said.

"Lt. Roosevelt!"

"Shit, well that is my queue boys. Thanks for caring Don," she said and patted him on the shoulder, then jogged out to where Sobel was standing with Winters and Nixon.

Adriana noticed immediately that Winters was sporting a new silver 1st Lt. bar on his collar.

"1st Lt. Congratulations sir," she said shaking Winters' hand.

He nodded but didn't have time to speak, because Sobel was speaking.

"Roosevelt, why were you not on latrine duty yesterday?"

"It wasn't my turn sir. Lt-"

"I say it was your turn. Go run Currahee," Sobel interrupted.

"Sir I-"

"Don't talk back Lt. It's not becoming for a woman. Do as I say."

Adriana looked at Winters and Nixon whose faces were just as perplexed as she assumed hers was. She then turned back to Sobel. He was damn lucky she could control herself otherwise his nose would be in his brain.

"Yes sir," was all she could say.

Then she turned and headed toward that fucking mountain. As she ran past the men's barracks, they were coming out to go to lunch.

"What are yah doing?" Hoob asked stopping her.

"Running Currahee," she said simply.

"Why the hell are you running Currahee?" Guarnere asked.

"High ho SILVER!" she responded loud enough for their CO to hear and continued running.

Since their first run up Currahee, Adriana had come to almost enjoy the time. Running let her think. Well when Sobel wasn't screaming at them, but she now was able to tune him out quite easily. Now she didn't have to. The birds were chirping in the trees high above her as she ran, and a family of squirrels was playing in the bushes.

She smiled at them just as she came to the hole in the rode Muck had twisted his ankle in and images of her men jumped to the front of her mind. Now that they knew she was a woman, some of the men were treating her differently, like she expected. She knew, if you asked anyone back home, men were the only thing Adriana Anne Roosevelt cared about, and while she was in boot camp so she could learn how to kill Germans, there was a plethora of men at her disposal.

Winters, though always respectful even when he thought she was a man, now seemed unsure of how to treat her. Nixon was another story entirely. He seemed most at ease around her out of all the men. They had spent countless nights laughing and talking long after lights out. Those two men were her friends. To old and to respectful to ever get into a relationship with. The rest of the men, however, were fair game to her.

Donald Malarkey immediately came to her mind when she thought about the men. He was strong physically and mentally and she had found out that he was sensitive and actually cared about her. His upper body was wonderful to look at, and the few times he had hugged her she had enjoyed the feeling of being slightly squished by his broad chest. She enjoyed talking with him about his family back home, and he liked listening about her childhood.

Joseph Liebgott was the next to enter her mind. His face was long and thin, and the half smile he always did was adorable. The mystery about him was truly intriguing, and she made a mental note to have a conversation with him that didn't involve how much they hated Sobel. Being one of the older guys there was a certain maturity in him, then there were also times he could just forget all his mature, mysterious charm and smack some guy in the mouth for saying something that rubbed him the wrong way. He was very respectful and watchful of Adriana, but didn't really say much unless it was about Sobel or Jews.

George Luz. He was by far the funniest guy in the company, and everyone knew it. Throughout all the enlisted men, not just Easy Company, he was known for his impersonations. Some people hated him for that particular quality because he had impersonated them at one time or another, but it was funny as hell either way. Luz was taller than her only by an inch or so, but that didn't mean much. She wasn't even 5 foot. Luz seemed to care about her the most out of them all. He was constantly asking how she was doing, if she needed any help, and there had been that mock marriage proposal, that might not have been so mock.

Bill Guarnere. He always had something to say and was usually a smart ass. He had the rather obnoxious personality that would normally turn Adriana off. With Bill though, it was different. He was the only guy in the place that didn't treat her differently. He didn't even look at her differently and at that moment, it was something she appreciated.

Don Hoobler. Hoob was one of the cutest men she had ever laid eyes on. Thinking of his chubby face put a smile on her face. She was pretty sure he had never had to shave before. He was 19 just like her, and had only graduated high school a year before. Adriana felt a strange love for him, but as a little brother.

Frank Perconte. Now there was an older guy. Still not as old as Liebgott, but older than her by more than two years. Lieb won for the oldest guy in the company and that was saying a lot because Liebgott was only 26. Frank was usually the one complaining, but it was always in good fun. Not once had Adriana ever seen him actually complain. Except when it came to Sobel.

At that moment she reached the top of Currahee and leaned against the rock catching her breath. There was no way Sobel could be watching her, because she couldn't even see him down at camp. As a matter of fact she couldn't see anyone she knew. It was strange. Perconte, Bull, Luz and Liebgott usually occupied the basket ball court whenever they had time. She shrugged and began her three mile run back down. As she hit the pot hole Muck had fallen in, she could hear Sobel's crazy yelling coming toward her. She stopped and stood in shock as the Easy Company Paratroopers came in a mob up the hill. They all looked awful. Some had stains on the front of their shirts, and Hoob was in the middle of throwing up.

"What the hell?" she asked herself as she spotted Luz. "What's going on?"

Everyone looked sick and exhausted.

"Plans change I guess," Malarkey said slapping Muck on the back.

She sighed and waited for Luz to pass her and she jumped in formation next to him and Bull.

"Lt. Roosevelt!"

"God dammit," Adriana hissed as Sobel appeared to Bull's left.

"You have already done this run for the day. Go back to the barracks."

"Sir I would like to run it again with the men."

"That was an order Lt!" Sobel shouted.

She sighed and Luz gave her a reassuring look. She patted him on the shoulder and stepped out of formation. Liebgott winked at her as he passed and Toye and Guarnere slapped her back as they ran by. Winters half smiled at her and nodded, and his blue eyes were hard as diamonds. Adriana set her jaw and began shouting the words to the song that was Easy Company's favorite.

"We pull upon the risers, we fall upon the grass. We never land upon our feet, we always hit our ass! Highty tighty, Christ almighty! Who the hell are we? Zim-Zam god damn! We're Airborne Infantry!"

The whole company turned to look at her then all immediately began to sing. Adriana could see Sobel's face, as red as a tomato, but she really couldn't have cared less at that point. Her men had their fight back.

She sought out Luz's face and when she saw it she realized he was shouting the loudest. He smiled at her. It was a smile she had never seen before. It wasn't his cheeky grin, or his mischievous smile. It was something she couldn't place, and she liked it. She found herself hoping she would see it more often. Maybe she was just wishing she would see more of George Luz in general.

**_Ok time to Review! Love you all!_**


	4. Jump Training

**_Hi guys sorry_**

**_it's been so long!_**

**_My computer decided that it needed a new hard drive, ten another, and another and another… so yeah it should be fixed soon but for now I'm using my friends computer. Thanks for being understanding guys. Hope you enjoy!_**

Three weeks later, Adriana and most of her men were embarking on a new journey. Jump training. On the morning of their first jump, they were all sitting, gathered around the instructor, listening carefully.

"So we all think we are ready to be army paratroopers?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" was the enthusiastic answer from everyone.

"I hope so. This will be the first of five exits from a C-47 Aircraft scheduled for today. Upon the successful completion of your fifth and final jump, you will be certified army paratroopers. There will be a lot of men, and woman, dropping from the sky today." Adriana nodded her thanks to the jump instructor as the men around her laughed and Guarnere and Luz slapped her on the back.

"Hopefully under deployed canopies."

A nervous laugh ran through the group.

"Jumping from 1000 AGL in sticks of twelve jumpers per aircraft. All you have to do, is remember what you were taught, and I guarantee, gravity will take care of the rest. And rest assured any refusal in the aircraft or at the door, and I guarantee you, you will be out of the airborne. Now let's do it."

Everyone got into their already assigned group and waited excitedly for it to be their turn. Adriana trotted over to her group. The men were all jumping around excitedly.

"Alright boys, calm down," she said catching Bill's arm.

They turned toward her, all wearing smiles. She nodded toward their plane and turned. They all made their way over. She helped each up, one by one, Muck first then Penkala, Guarnere, Toye, Lieb, Roe, Malarkey, Perconte, Talkb and Luz. Shifty helped Adriana onto the plane then hopped on himself. Adriana nodded at the jump instructor just as the plane rumbled to life. Luz elbowed her in the ribs.

"We have been putting up with ol' Sobel for two years now. Did yah ever think we would get here, Bell?" he asked using his nickname for her, that on many occasions she had told him that it had nothing to do with her name. George Luz didn't seem to care.

"I always had faith in myself Luz. You on the other hand, I thought would fall down Curahee."

"As I recall on the first day Bull and I had to practically carry you up that hill," Luz said playfully pushing her.

"Oh hush," she said pushing back.

"What about you Shifty?" Luz asked easily defending himself against their Lt.

"I never thought I would get here," the sharpshooter confessed running a hand through his hair. "I always had faith in you though Adri," he said diverting his eyes from hers.

"Thank you Shifty," Adriana said patting his shoulder.

By then the instructor was yelling at them to stand and hook up. They followed orders then checked the gear of the person in front of them.

"Sound off for equipment check!"

It started in the back with Muck and finally, after what felt like ages, Adriana felt Luz tap her shoulder and say "Three ok!"

"Two ok," she shouted and hit Shifty's arm.

"One ok!" Shifty yelled.

"Stand at the door!"

Holding their hooks the men of Easy assembled for their first jump. Adriana noticed Shifty's hand trembling at his side. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed. He looked over his shoulder at her, smiled, squeezed her and back then jumped. Adriana stepped up and was suddenly light headed. For a split second, she thought about backing out, but felt Luz's strong hand in hers. She sought out his sparkling eyes.

"See you on the ground Bells," he said just as the instructor was yelling at her to jump.

She smiled and threw himself out. It ended up being the easiest thing she had ever done. It was almost like a second nature. The prop blast was a little bit frightening and at first she was sure her neck broke. She could see Shifty landing below her, and easily wrapping up his chute. She could hear Luz whooping and shouting above her so she joined in.

She tugged her riser to the left to avoid landing on Shifty, but he happily ran after her and caught her before she touched the ground. He hugged her and spun her around as the chute cascaded down on top of them. She squealed with joy then he set her gently on the ground. She laughed and turned to find her way out from under the chute, but Shifty caught her arm and spun her back around.

She looked curiously at him as he touched her face gently. A strange expression crossed his face and for half a second, Adriana was sure she saw lust in his green eyes. He inclined his head toward her, before he apparently thought better and pulled back. She looked at him, searching his face until Luz could be heard searching for them. Shifty stepped back from her, just as Luz found her.

"We did it Bells!" he shouted wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning her around, getting them both more tied up in the chute.

"George Luz, put me down!" she exclaimed slapping at his hands good-naturedly.

He dropped her onto her feet and went looking for Shifty.

"Whatcha doing under there, Shift?" Luz asked helping the young soldier out from under the chute.

"Just got stuck," Shifty said uncomfortably.

Adriana shook her head at him and managed to get out of her chute and roll it up. The rest of the men jogged up, all just as excited as Luz.

"Only four more jumps boys!" Malarkey yelled.

"I would jump a thousand more times," Perconte declared.

They all agreed and made their way back to the base to jump again. The four more jumps were all easier than the first. No one hesitated on throwing themselves from the plane the second, third or fourth time. Every single man was ecstatic. The excitement of the day even showed through Winter's always stoic expression. And for all the men that did it, there was a party waiting for them.

After all five jumps and the ceremony where they got their wings, they were all taken to a bar where banners were hung, and women awaited them. Adriana, of course, was not interested in them, but the endless amounts of beer being served was another story.

Although she was only twenty and the President's daughter, she had been exposed to alcohol many times. She had never been able to hold her liquor well, but that didn't stop her from drinking. At this point, Luz, who was behind the bar, had cut her off but she was continuing to beg.

"Come on Luz. Pleeeeese?" she slurred.

"Bell, you have already had one to many," he said snatching the beer she had just taken from the bar. "In fact I should probably get you somewhere you can sleep this off."

He gently took her by the arm and led her from the bar. They reached the door just as Guarnere and Toye were entering.

"What's wrong with Rosie," Guarnere asked using the nickname for her. (Rose because her last name Roosevelt.)

"She apparently can't hold her liquor," Luz said. "She's got to go sleep it off."

"You want any help?" Shifty asked suddenly appearing behind Luz.

"Uuh, Naw Shifty. I think we will be alright."

Shifty looked disappointed.

"Why don't you take her Shift," Guarnere stated.

"What are you implying, Bill?" Luz asked tightening his grip on Adriana's arm.

"It means I trust Shifty with our Rosie. Especially when she is drunk out of her mind. We wouldn't want anyone taking advantage of her now would we," Guarnere said pointedly.

Luz could have punched Guarnere in the mouth, but Toye spoke up.

"Back off Bill. Shifty, go inside. Luz, take Adri and get some rest. Now," he added the last word when Luz didn't immediately do what he said.

With a last look at Guarnere, Luz turned Adriana toward the base. When they were out of earshot, Toye turned to Guarnere.

"What's the matter with you? It's easy to see he loves her. All the men do."

"Yeah maybe a little too much," Guarnere hissed watching the pair go.

"Let's get a drink Bill," Toye said shaking his head and pulling his friend inside.

Guarnere went inside only to run right into Malarkey leaving.

"Sorry Bill," Malarkey apologized.

"Hey Malark, You going back to base?" Guarnere asked.

"Yeah."

"Check on Rosie for me will you? She was a little drunk when Luz took her back. Make sure she is alright."

"Will do," Malarkey answered and left the bar.

He walked back slowly pondering why Bill was so protective against Luz. He made good time and came up to the officer barracks. He knocked and a quiet answer came from within.

"Enter."

Malarkey did and saluted Winters, then looked to the cot across the room.

"Can I do something for you Malarkey?" Winters asked putting down his book.

"I just came to check on Ros- I mean Adri," he answered. "She was drinking a little bit more than she should have and some of the men were worried."

"Well she is fine, as you can see," Winters answered. "Anything else?"

"No sir nothing. Thank you sir," Malarkey said saluting and backing out of the room.

He turned toward his barracks when he spotted Luz sitting on a hill, outlined by moonlight. Malarkey sighed and walked over.

_**Ok time to do your part! Review! **_

_**Another part will be up soon!  
**_


	5. Marching, Tents, and Malarkey's Feet

_**Hello everyone! **_

_**As you can see my computer is working perfectly now, so there is really no excuse for me not updating except I'm lazy, which consequently happens a lot. Haha anyway, I need to thanks Heartbeats 77 for using the name Rose in her BoB piece. It made me LOVE the name and want to name my child that someday, and this character too. But anyway, I give all the credit to her. love ya! Anyway here is the new story. I do not own Band Of Brothers unfortunately. Only Adriana Anne Roosevelt.**_

"What's going on Luz?" Malarkey asked sitting next to him.

Luz was absently chewing on a piece of grass.

"Bill actually thought I would hurt her," Luz said rubbing his temples.

"He is just worried. No matter how good a soldier Adri is, she is still a woman. He is looking out for her," Malarkey assured Luz with a pat on the back. "She is lucky enough to have the entire 101st Airborne behind her."

Luz nodded and looked up at his friend.

"Get some sleep. We move out tomorrow," Malarkey said standing and dusting himself off. "Camp Mackall here we come."

Luz sighed as Malarkey walked away then returned his gaze back to his feet. His feelings for Adriana had come so fast he hadn't been sure what was happening. Now that he had time to think about it, he realized it was bad. Adri was a soldier. A near perfect soldier, but a soldier none the less. She was just as likely to die as any other man, and that thought made him sick. He sighed and threw himself back on the hill, sending a cloud of dust into the air. There he let sleep take him.

The next morning he awoke to a sharp kick in the side.

"Get up you stupid fucker." It was Toye. "Don't give Sobel a reason to beat your ass. Damn it, Luz get up! We move out in twenty minutes!"

Luz struggled to push the grogginess of sleep from his limbs, and stand, but it took him a few tries. Finally Toye grabbed him by the back of the uniform and hauled him to his feet.

"Go get your shit together before Sobel or Winters finds out you decided to sleep under the stars last night," Toye said giving Luz a push.

Finally finding his legs, he ran back to his barracks. He burst through the doors knocking Perconte into Muck who took out Doc Roe.

"Shit Luz, watch where you're goin' will yah?" Perconte shouted as he untangled himself from Muck and Roe.

"You almost killed the poor Doc," Muck informed them as he helped the medic off the ground.

"Where were you last night?" Martin asked glancing up from packing his belongings.

Luz didn't answer. He was too busy pulling off his dress uniform and haphazardly throwing his belongings into his bag. He yanked on his olive army drab and tried to fix his uniform.

"Luz, where were you last night?" Martin asked again.

"I was chasin' fireflies, Johnny," Luz answered stiffly as he bloused his trousers over his boots.

Martin didn't say any more. He could see the radioman was more than a little flustered. A second later Toye and Guarnere entered followed by Shifty and Adriana. The appearance of Adriana on Shifty's arm only added to Luz's frantic and rather chaotic behavior. The whole room had stopped and was watching Luz. Adriana finally pushed past Guarnere and approached Luz.

"Hey you alright?" she asked touching his arm.

"Perfect," Luz said tearing up his cot looking for his Paratroopers hat.

Adriana picked it up from the floor and held it out to him. He looked up into her soft, amber eyes, and immediately felt his heart rate slow. She smiled, searching his face. He returned her smile and took his hat.

"So where are we off to Lt?" he asked.

She laughed.

"Off to start combat training. Camp Mackcall. We are marching," she said.

"How far is it?" Penkala asked from across the room.

"I don't know," Adriana said. "Apparently Sobel is the only one who knows, and for whatever reason, he is not telling. Anyway, let's move boys. Winters wants us out and in formation in five."

All the men grabbed their stuff and jogged out to the open area between the barracks. They got into formation and waited for Sobel. They didn't have to wait long. As always, Sobel came shouting around a corner.

"I hope you men are ready. Camp Mackcall is a five day journey from here. I told Colonel Sink we would be there in four."

No one moved, but all hopes of a nice, easy ride on a train, or even an open backed truck were gone. Adriana sighed silently and let her eyes slide closed.

"Winters, Roosevelt, get your men in position. We move out in five."

With a curt nod he turned on his heel toward HQ. Winters and Adriana exchanged a glance then turned to their squads.

"Are you boys ready?" Adriana asked, her gaze staying on Luz for half a second longer than anyone else.

There were nods all the way around her squad.

"How far do you think it is?" Malarkey wondered aloud.

"About four hundred miles," Lipton answered.

"Shit," was the general response.

"Let's get into position men," Adriana shouted to her squad.

They assembled behind Winter's squad and waited for Sobel to come back. Adriana stood just to the left of her assembled squad. She just happened to be next to Luz. He looked at her and immediately was worried.

"Hey Bell, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing Luz," she sighed dismissively.

"Come on," Luz prodded.

"It just that-" but she was abruptly cut off by Sobel.

"Noise and Light discipline men! Let's move out! "

"Christ he won't even let us smoke," Adriana heard Guarnere hiss from in front of her.

"Seven a.m. and we are marching to God knows where," Toye sighed.

"I thought I said Noise DISCIPLINE!" Sobel shouted back at them." Lt. Roosevelt, do your damn job!"

"Shut up," she hissed at Toye, but shot him a smile.

The rest of that day was spent marching. They stopped once at noon to refill canteens, but other than that, they were always moving. At one a.m. the men started to complain, and Adriana would have joined them, but for fear of Sobel, she hushed them. Finally, an hour later Sobel announced they would be stopping.

"We move out at seven!"

Easy company dropped their gear and flopped down. Most would have been content to sleep right where they fell, but the officers managed to get them up and get the pup tents up. Adriana was sitting alone in the one she, Winters and Nixon were sharing, looking at a map. She was trying to see where they were in accordance to where they should be.

Sobel had them practically running all day and they had covered a surprising sixty miles that day, but Adriana knew sixty miles a day wouldn't get them to Camp Mackall in four days, let alone five. They would have to move faster. That meant a lot of unhappy men. Winters and Nixon entering the tent interrupted her thoughts.

"Where are we?" Winters asked, noticing the map in her hands.

"Right about here sir," she said pointing at the map.

Winters and Nixon looked over her shoulder and Nixon let out a low whistle.

"There is a lot more ground in front of us than behind us," he said.

"That's what is worrying me," Adriana confessed rubbing her forehead. "I don't know if the men can march over sixty miles every day with only a few hours of rest."

"Speaking of rest," Nixon yawned. "I would like to get some so if you two don't mind."

He began pulling off his shirt and Adriana got up.

"I'm going to check on the men. I'll be back in awhile."

"Lt. I want you to get some sleep tonight," Winters ordered.

"Yes sir. I will. I just want to make sure the men are alright before I sleep."

Winters nodded and she left the little warmth of the tent. They had camped in the middle of a large wooded area, and it was almost completely dark, save for the small glow the moon put off. Usually there would be fires going, but no one had the will to make a fire. There wasn't much talking as she walked past tents. She heard Toy's voice telling Guarnere to 'shut the fuck up or he was literally going to bury him.'

Adriana smiled to herself and followed the light to another tent where she found Perconte and Muck changing and Luz asleep.

"How are you boys?" she asked leaning against the middle pole holding the tent up.

"As good as can be expected," Perconte told her. "Wish I could sleep like Luz here. He was out before he even changed."

Adriana felt a grin spreading across her face as she looked at Luz's peaceful expression. Her look didn't go unnoticed by Muck or Perconte but they only smiled to one another.

"Well get some sleep boys. We have a long trip tomorrow."

"You should sleep too," Muck said blowing out the candle.

"Yeah well, that's what I get for being a Lt. Not much sleep. Goodnight."

"Night Rosie," they chorused and she left.

She was about to head back to her tent when she heard a crunch behind her. She turned and looked over her shoulder. Another crunch. She scanned the dark trees for any sign of movement. She knew there were no Germans in Georgia, but it was the middle of the night, and there were a hell of a lot of men around. It paid to be careful. She thought about whispering 'Thunder' but she realized how stupid she would sound. She was in Georgia for god sakes. Suddenly someone's hand was on her shoulder. She yelped and turned on the person.

"Shifty," she said letting out a sigh. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry Adri," he apologized stepping away from her.

"It's alright, I just-" she turned back to the spot in the trees she heard the noise.

"What's wrong?" Shifty asked.

"Nothing. I'm just tired I guess," she laughed.

"Well you shouldn't be out here alone. It's not safe," Shifty said.

"We are in the middle of the Easy Company Paratroopers camp. Why isn't it safe?"

Shifty shrugged.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," he said looking at the ground.

Adriana smiled and looped her arm through his. He looked at her surprised.

"Thank you Shifty," she said.

He smiled down at her and they walked back to her tent.

"Goodnight Shift."

"Goodnight Adri," he answered and walked off.

She watched him, smiled to herself and went inside. Sleep was not easily found for her that night. She tossed and turned for two hours before she fell into a restless sleep. Sobel's yell came all too early for her.

"Easy company, get up! You have ten minutes! If you are not ready to leave by then, you WILL be left behind!"

He was walking around to tents pushing them over and kicking the occupants off their cots. Shouts from angry Paratroopers could be heard mixed with Sobel's shouts.

"Get up!"

Winters, Nixon and Adriana rolled off their cots and threw their stuff together in record time. Winters and Nixon began putting their tent away and Adriana went to help get the men up. She ran to the first tent and helped Malarkey, Guarnere and Toye out from under their collapsed tent. Toye was muttering about how much he hated Sobel when Adriana found him under the thick, waterproof tent material.

"Let's go, Joe. We don't have time to play hide and seek," Adriana said laughing at his expression.

"Sobel is the one who needs to hide," Guarnere said along with a string of curse words as he pulled himself from under the tent.

"Aww come on don't threaten Sobel. I'll have to discipline you, Bill," Adriana joked.

"I would like to see you discipline anyone seriously," Malarkey said from somewhere under the tent.

"Yeah yeah Malark. Get out from under there and get your shit together."

They laughed as Adriana jogged to the next tent. It was also on the ground with three bodies flailing underneath it.

"Get out from under there boys! We don't have enough time to play games."

"Who's playin'?" It was Luz's voice.

Adriana whipped the tent off of Luz, Perconte and Muck then went to the next tent. She continued making her way around until she got to the last tent housing Shifty, Lipton and Bull.

"You guys almost ready?" she asked jogging up behind Bull.

"Pretty close," Bull said, pulling Shifty out of the tent and collapsing it in one swift motion.

"You guys sleep well?" she asked.

"Not bad actually," Lipton answered.

"Good," she said.

"How bout' you Adri?" Shifty asked.

"Not that great actually. Marching should be fun today. Hurry up and get packed up," she said then trotted back across the field to her now collapsed tent.

Nixon tossed her an orange.

"This is breakfast?" she asked.

Nixon shrugged and Winters turned to her. She saw a change in his soft blue eyes and she turned around. Sobel was stomping toward them.

"Get the men in line," he said to Adriana as he passed her and pulled Winters away from the group.

"Yes sir," Adriana said watching Sobel and Winters for a moment.

When it became clear Sobel wasn't going to hit Winters, Adriana turned and yelled to the men.

"Easy Company, get in formation!"

The men quickly did so. She scanned the area making sure they hadn't forgotten anything. When she was satisfied that they were all there, she went to stand in her place next to Luz. Nixon joined them shortly and Sobel and Winters came a few minutes later.

"Let's move out!" Sobel shouted.

And so it began again. Marching without pause for anything except more water. Sixty or more miles a day usually with only four to five hours of sleep a night. Sobel was as much of a hard ass as always, but at least he was letting them smoke and talk. Not that there was much talking. Most of the men were too exhausted to do any more than concentrate on not tripping on their own feet. Everyone's tempers were short, and on the third day, men had started feinting.

Private Christianson had been the first one. He was in the middle of 1st squad and had knocked three men over in the process of him falling. Luckily, Bull and Guarnere had caught him. Sobel's reaction was very much a Sobel reaction. Four more had followed him that day, and that night when Adriana made her rounds, she found that wasn't the only problem. When she approached Malarkey, Bill and Toye's tent she could hear quiet moans from inside.

"Malarkey what's wrong?" Adriana asked stepping inside.

Malarkey sheepishly showed her his feet. They were bloody and had large, open blisters that were seeping.

"Holy shit, Malark. I'll be back," Adriana said and ran across to Roe's tent.

"Hey Doc?"

Roe looked up from a paper he was writing on.

"Can you come have a look at Malarkey's feet?"

"His feet?" asked the medic curiously.

"Yeah he has some pretty bad blisters."

_**Alright guys! Time to review!  
Next chapter will start with Malarkey's feet**__!_


	6. Camp Mackall

_**So another one is up!**_

_**I just wanted to say that I don't think I did a very good job overall on this chapter, but that's ok. Next chapter will be further into the movie so yeah. Enjoy guys!**_

Roe got up and followed her back across the field.

"Sorry Doc, I know it's late and you're probably exhausted, but Malarkey might not make it tomorrow."

"It's a'right miss Roosevelt. That's what I'm here for," he said keeping pace with her easily, despite her short strides.

They entered Malarkey's tent and were met with complaints from Malarkey.

"Aww come on Rosie, I didn't need a Doc."

"What else is he here for if not to keep you men well?" she asked.

Roe smiled and put sulfate powder on his feet then wrapped them up.

"Am I going to make it, Doc?" Malarkey asked smiling.

"You'll be fine Don. Just try to take it as easy as you can hu?"

Malarkey barked a laugh.

"Not much chance of that with Sobel leading us. Seventy fucking miles today," Guarnere complained.

"Seventy five," Adriana corrected him.

"He is going to half the company killed if he keeps this up," Toye growled massaging his ankles.

"How is Christenson?" Adriana asked Roe.

"He's doin' just fine," Roe answered finishing bandaging Malarkey's feet. "I'll see y'all in the mornin'," Roe said nodding to the men and bowing slightly to Adriana.

"I'm going to bed too. Goodnight boys. Malarkey, rest up."

"Night Rosie," Guarnere said catching her hand and giving it a squeeze.

Adriana smiled and left them, only to find that Roe was waiting for her.

"Thought I would walk you back to your tent," he said quietly.

"That would be lovely," she said.

She fell into step with him.

"How are you Gene?" she asked looking up into his dark eyes.

"I'm doin' fine miss Roosevelt. How about yourself? This march to hard for you?"

She could tell the last question was a joke by the way his eyes flashed. She pushed his shoulder.

"I was born to march," she said good-naturedly.

A small smile graced his lips for half a second then he returned to his stony expression.

"But really. You're a'right?"

"Yes. I'm exhausted like everyone, but I can handle it. I have always had a lot of stamina. Are you worried about me like every other man in Easy Company?" she asked smiling.

"Yes," he answered turning to face her.

His blunt answer had surprised her into silence.

"You are one of the men's favorite soldiers. And it's not just because you're one of the only women for miles. You are wonderful at what you do. You're a great leader, and the men would be lost without you."

"Thanks Gene," she said as she felt color rise in her cheeks. "I'm glad the men feel that way."

He nodded curtly then said, "Goodnight miss Roosevelt."

"Call me anything but miss Roosevelt, Gene," she said as he began to walk away. "There are enough nicknames floating around here. Pick on."

He nodded and said, "Goodnight Adriana."

"Goodnight Gene," she said sighing.

He left and went back toward his tent. Adriana watching him go then went inside hers. Winters was still awake, looking over a map.

"How close are we sir?" she asked sitting heavily on her cot.

"We should make it by tomorrow," he paused. "If we march all day and night."

"I wouldn't put it past Sobel," Adriana commented as she pulled off her boots.

Winters nodded thoughtfully.

"Goodnight Lt." he said blowing out this candle.

"Goodnight sir," she responded.

The next morning Sobel gathered the men around for a speech.

"Today is the last hundred miles. We will make it to Camp Mackall by tomorrow. Let's MOVE OUT!"

Groans echoed through the men, but they began marching. There was a little more talk among them, and even a little laughter thanks to Luz. After about twenty miles, Luz turned to Adriana.

"Hey Bell can you sing?"

"Why?" she asked surprised.

"Because I'm tired of hearing Perco trying to belt out the Star Spangled Banner," Luz said as Perconte aimed a punch at the back of his head.

"Yeah come on Rosie. I'm sure you have a good voice," Malarkey said smiling.

"Only if you sing with me Malark," she said smiling.

Malrakey agreed and Adriana began a song most of the company knew well.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found was blind but now I see."

On the next verse, Malarkey's strong tenor joined her.

"Was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fear relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed."

By the third verse most of the company was singing. Sobel and Winters were the only two no singing. Sobel was in a terrible mood, as always and Winters was happy to march and listen.

"Through many danger, toils and snares, I have already come; its grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home."

"And grace will lead me home," Winters whispered to himself.

The company finished the song then marched in comfortable silence with one another. Suddenly from somewhere in the back a song floated through the company.

"He was just a rookie trooper and he surly shook with fright. He checked off his equipment, and made sure his pack was tight. He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar. He aint gonna jump no more!"

Everyone joined in on the chorus.

"Gory, Gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die, he ain't gonna jump no more!"

Winters even joined in, but quietly to himself.

"'Is everybody happy?' cried the Sergeant looking up, our hero feebly answered 'yes,' and then they stood him up; he jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked, and he aint gonna jump no more! Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die and he aint gonna jump no more!"

On the second to last verse everyone was shouting.

"His blood went spurting high, his comrades then were heard to say: 'a hell of a way to die!' He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore, and he ain't gonna jump no more."

The chorus that followed was the loudest Adriana had ever heard her men yell, then they immediately got very quiet on the last, sad verse.

"There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute, intestines were a'dangling from his Paratrooper suit, he was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots and he aint gonna jump no more. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die and he aint gonna jump no more. No he aint gonna jump nooooo mooooore!"

The song ended and everyone was feeling a little bit better. Finally after eighteen more hours, four more feinted men, and a case of heat exhaustion, there was only two miles standing between them and their destination. Two miles standing between them and beds, hot showers and real food. Poor Malarkey had to crawl the last mile because of his feet, but once they made it, they were surprised to find a small mob of people waiting for them.

Malarkey immediately got up and all the men stood a little bit taller as they passed through the first crowd of people. People were reaching out and touching their shoulders as they walked by and some women even threw themselves at the men and placed kisses on their cheeks. Sobel pushed through the crowd with his normal anger and hatred for human life, but the rest of the men enjoyed all the attention.

Eventually they reached the base and all the men were dismissed to go sleep for a few days straight. As the men settled down in their new accommodations, that just happened to have real mattresses, Adriana began her rounds. It was much easier making her rounds when the men were only spread out between two bunkers. It was about noon, and the sun was bright in North Carolina. Adriana was already exhausted and the sun wasn't helping.

She entered the bunker and was met with the snoring of twenty sleeping men. The lights were off and no one was awake. Adriana smiled and went to the second bunker. It was the complete opposite. Everyone in there was awake and celebrating.

"We did it!" Guarnere was in the middle of yelling.

"Hell yeah we did!" Malarkey said high fiving Muck.

"Alright bys settle down," Adriana said walking into the middle of the room and catching a baseball.

"Aww come on Rosie!" Guarnere said catching her arm and pulling her into a hug.

"Let go of me," she said, but it was only half heartedly.

Guarnere did, but as soon as his arms were off her, Malarkey threw his arms around her. And so that's what happened. As soon as one person was done hugging her, the next one in the line would grab her. When Luz threw his arms around her, it was somehow different than everyone else. She felt it in the way he held her. It was just different.

Luz let go of her and held her at arms length. His sparkling eyes met hers, and she thought she saw something. Something she wasn't used to seeing in anyone's eyes let alone a close friend. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. She hadn't even noticed her hand was in his until that moment. She felt her face flush and she looked away almost embarrassed. She didn't see the smirk that crossed Luz's face. She finally got herself together and somewhat reluctantly took her hand back.

She turned and was met with Shifty. He was the only one who hadn't attacked her with open arms. He was looking at her shyly.

"Aww Shifty," she said smiling.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. Hoots and cat calls went up from them men and Adriana detached herself from his neck.

"Yeah yeah keep it up," she said pushing Liebgott's chest. "Alright get some rest guys. We start training tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am!" they all shouted and saluted in mock respect.

Adriana smiled and nodded.

"Goodnight boys."

She was met with a chorus of 'night Rosies' and she left. They all turned to get ready for sleep, but Luz's eyes stayed trained on Shifty. He was sitting on his cot absently rubbing his cheek. The cheek, Luz noticed, that Adriana had just kissed. For a minute he thought about going over to the soft spoken riflemen and punching him in that cheek, but he thought better of it and just lay on his cot. Sleep took him quickly.

_**Ok guys review! Please, please, please!**_

_**As I said before, I don't really like this chapter, and I'm skipping their other training and going right to the day before jumping on D-Day. Ok so yeah! Review!**_


	7. Father!

_**I do not own Band of Brothers, only Adriana Roosevelt.**_

E Company arrived in Upottery, England on May 31, 1944. The men and Adriana had made it through two years of Sobel's crap and had rejoiced together when he had been promoted out of Easy. Now as they clambered off trucks, their new Lt. Buck Compton could be heard shouting orders for the platoons.

Adriana was sitting in the front of one of the trucks as it pulled to a stop. She stepped out into the mud and was met with a strong, cold wind in her face followed almost immediately by the Philadelphian man.

"How you doing Rosie?" Guarnere asked

"I'm fine Guarnere," she said letting him throw an arm around her shoulders.

"You sure? I heard you had a bit of a cold," Guarnere said.

"I'm fine. That was Doc Roe worrying too much," Adriana said dismissively.

"Well take it easy just the same alright?" Guarnere said.

She nodded and smiled as Guarnere patted her shoulder and trudged off to his tent. Adriana turned to go find hers when she had to stop for a mob of men with thick accents. She couldn't place what the accent was, but apparently Hoob knew one of the men. She stopped to watch the interaction.

"Hey you got a luger?" Hoob asked. "I'm dying to get my hands on one."

The other man said something, but Adriana couldn't understand him. Judging by Hoob's reaction, neither could he. His face lit up at the sight of the gun. He aimed it at no one in particular then turned to show it to someone, but the owner wouldn't have that. Hoob apologized then wished him luck.

"Trying to steal his Luger, Hoob?" Adriana asked slapping his shoulder.

"Naw," Hoob answered lightly. "I just wanted to show Petty. But I understand. Lugers are good guns. I wouldn't want to lose mine either."

"They aren't that good Hoob. They tend to go off by themselves," Adriana said seriously.

"Ehh still. They are wonderful guns. Well ill see yah Rosie," he said waving and turning toward Muck.

Adriana shook her head and continued to her tent. Before she took three steps, Nixon caught her arm.

"We have a briefing in ten minutes," he said, all too joyfully.

"Aww come on Nix, I haven't even gotten to my tent yet," Adriana said with mock disappointment.

"I know I know Adri, but that's what you get when you're a Lt. All officers, let's go!"

He practically skipped away leading her by an arm. They made it to the large, open air building in just enough time for Nix to get up and start speaking. All the officers and non-coms were gathered around the sand tables, listening closely to Nix.

"San. Meri Dumon. Causeway number one, causeway number two," Nix said pointing to the bored with a pencil. "The ultimate field problem. The estuary of the Duve River divides two beach heads codename Utah, here, and Omaha, here. Seaborne infantry will hit these beaches in force at a date and time to be specified. H-hour, D-day. Airborne's objective, Gentlemen, and Lady," he added smiling at Adriana. "Is to take the town of Carantan, thus linking Utah and Omaha into one continuous beach head."

Later that day, when all the men assembled, Meehan told them about the plans. Adriana, having heard all of this more than once from Nix, didn't pay attention. She was standing at the front of Easy Company, watching her men. Some looked grim, some excited. Most were smoking but they all seemed to understand their orders. For that she was very thankful. When Meehan was done, all the men were dismissed to get their stuff together.

Adriana was kneeling in front of all her stuff listening to Joe Toye ramble off all the stuff he was going to have to carry on his back. Perconte was to his right and Adriana was between Perco and Luz.

"What's your point?" Perco asked.

"Well this stuff weighs as much as I do and I still have my shoot, my reserve shoot, my may wes, my M1."

"Where you keeping your brass knuckles?" Perco asked poking Adriana in the ribs and chuckling.

"I could use some brass knuckles," Toye said thoughtfully.

As another soldier came by yelling for Sgt. Martin Luz tapped Adriana's arm.

"Hey Bell, what is this for?" he asked.

She sighed in mock annoyance at Luz and took the strap that he didn't know how to use. He smile, but soon his smile faded. Adriana looked up at his face, and concern crossed hers.

"What's up Luz?"

"Are you ready?"

"For what? To drop into Normandy? As ready as I will ever be," she answered for the fourth time that day. Everyone seemed concerned that she was ready to drop into a war zone.

"I mean you feel like… well you… you know that…" Luz faltered.

A wave of deep caring washed over her and she grabbed Luz's shoulders.

"Luz, don't worry about me alright? You know I am one of the best soldiers here," she said, the last part meant to be funny.

"I know, I know," Luz said not meeting her gaze.

"Luz, come on," Adriana said touching his chin and lifting his face. "Why so worried all of a sudden?"

Adriana watched Luz's dark eyes searching her face then they finally met hers.

"I have wanted to-" but he was interrupted by Johnny Martin.

"Hey Rosie!"

She looked up then back at Luz.

"Go on," he said nodding and giving her a little push.

She shot him a smile and left. He sighed and continued putting his stuff together when Malarkey and Guarnere came up. Guarnere plopped down with a tray of ice cream while Malarkey explored their new leg bag.

"Why are they springing these things on us now?" he asked no one in particular.

"What's it matter. It's just an extra 80 pounds strapped to your leg," Luz commented dryly. "Does anybody have any idea how da' hell this thing works?"

He held up the strap Adriana hadn't showed him how to use. No one answered him. Instead someone walked by handing out pieces of paper. Luz took his and began in Col. Sink's voice.

"Solders of the regiment. Toniiiight is the niiiiight... of nights. Today as you read this, you are in route to the great adventure for which you have trained for over two years."

"So that's why they gave us ice cream," Guarnere said defeated.

Meehan announced later that day that the jump would be postponed, so Adriana found herself sitting in her tent, writing her father.

'_Father,_

_Things are going well here. Captain Meehan just told us the drop was postponed due to weather. We will probably jump tomorrow. We are going into Normandy father. If there was ever a time to pray, it would be now. I miss you and mother, and my brothers, but I have a different kind of family here. The boys are great. I wish you could meet them. They are all gentlemen and are all looking out for me so don't worry.'_

She was interrupted by Liebgott bursting through the tent flap.

"Lieb what are you doing up?" she asked.

They had to start getting ready to jump in a little less than an hour.

"There is something out here I think you will want to see, Adri," he answered.

His eyes were bright and excited and he held out a hand to her. She was confused but took his hand anyway. She was pulled out of her chair and quickly through the crisp morning air until they came to an opening in the tents. At first she didn't see what Liebgott was so excited about until she heard a voice she knew well.

Lieb let go of her hand as she ran to her father's waiting arms. Most of the men were gathered around Roosevelt at a respectful distance and they all smiled and clapped when Adriana threw herself into her father.

"My daughter," he said holding her close to him.

He leaned back from her and held her at arm's length.

"Men if you will excuse me. My daughter and I have some things to catch up on," Roosevelt said calmly.

Adriana jumped up and wheeled her father's wheelchair to a bench on one side of a tent where she sat facing him.

"Father what are you doing here?" Adriana asked, tears falling from her eyes.

"Do you think I would miss my daughter taking her first steps into the combat zone? Adriana, I am so proud of you."

"Thank you father," she said throwing her arms around him again.

"Now tell me how you are. You have been doing well you see," he said nodding to the 2nd Lt. bar on her collar.

"Oh that," she said smiling. "I got promoted the second month. I got into a fight with Bill Guarnere, and they found out I was a woman."

"It only took them two months?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Yes father," she laughed.

"Who is this Bill Guarnere?" Roosevelt asked looking around.

"Wild Bill," Adriana said looking for him.

He was standing next to Joe Toye, complaining about something.

"He is the loud one," she said to her father.

"Should I speak to him?" Roosevelt asked seriously.

"No, no father. Bill is a wonderful man. They all are."

Roosevelt looked around then back at his daughter.

"I want to meet them," he stated.

"All of them Father?" she asked somewhat surprised.

"Yes," he nodded simply.

"If you insist," she said and got up and took her father's hand.

She wheeled him back to the group of men mulling around the tents. All the men looked up watching carefully. Adriana led her father up to the first group of men she saw.

"Father, this is Donald Malarkey, Warren Muck, Alex Penkala, Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye. Boys, this is my father."

Each man shook Roosevelt's hand in turn, all of them white faced.

"My daughter tells me that all you men are the best at what you do," he said.

"We are the best sir," Guarnere said nodding.

"Well I'm glad of it," Roosevelt said patting Bill's back. "Adriana says you two had a problem back at basic."

"Well you know Wild Bill. He is always making problems with everyone," Muck piped up.

Guarnere looked back and forth between Adriana and Roosevelt, who were both smiling.

"I'm glad you two are getting along now," Roosevelt said nodding to Guarnere.

Guarnere's face softened immediately when he realized he was not mad. Before they had a chance to say anything else, Winters walked up followed closely by Nix, Buck, and Lip.

"Sir," Winters said putting his hand out to Roosevelt. "1st Lt. Winters, sir."

"I have heard of you. May I call you Dick?" Roosevelt asked shaking his hand.

"Of course sir," Winters said.

"I have heard how good you are Dick. You are a true leader."

"Thank you sir," Winters said.

Adriana could see his eyes light up at the compliment. Roosevelt continued to meet the men. He shook Nixon's hand, Buck's hand and Lipton's hand, and then was asked if he wanted to say anything by Meehan. He nodded.

"Men of Easy Company, lend me your ears for a moment. Two years ago, my daughter came to me and told me she wanted to help in the war. Naturally, I was hesitant at first, but as you probably all know, she is as stubborn as an ass."

The men laughed and Adriana shrugged. It was her greatest character flaw, but it was helpful at times. Like when she was trying to coral a company of unruly men.

"You have all shown great courage and love for your country by volunteering to do this. You have brothers standing around you. My daughter has told me how much you all care for each other. Carry that into war, and you will all come home. Men, and my daughter, I wish you all the best of luck. The eyes of your country are on you. Go with God."

The men clapped.

"Oh father your wonderful. I'm so glad you came to see me. When are you leaving?"

"Right after I see you off my dear," he said smiling.

"Easy company!" Meehan shouted from across the field.

"I have to go father. We need to get ready," Adriana said kneeling in front of him.

"Go darling. I'll be here watching you leave," Roosevelt kissed his daughter's forehead.

"Thank you," she said leaning into his embrace for a second then turning to get her things together.

Roosevelt watched her go, flashing back to a memory long ago. When she was a child and her long locks were blowing in the wind, the caramel color of her hair contrasting stunningly against the yellow of the flowers in the field. She turned to look at him, the grey-blue of her eyes against her tan skin making her white dress stand out. How he loved his daughter. His first daughter. His first child. From the day she was born she had him wrapped around her little finger. Now, 18 years later, his beautiful little girl was going off to fight a war, and for the first time in his life he couldn't be by her side, protecting her. He had to trust these men who started out as strangers, but were not family. All of a sudden, a feeling washed over him. He knew she was going to be ok.

Five o'clock rolled around and men began getting serious. Most were finally realizing that what they had been training for, for over twenty two months was finally going to happen. All 13,000 Paratroopers were ready to jump into a war zone. Most normal people would think they were crazy, but they all had their own reasons for going. Regardless of their original reasoning, they had 12,999 more reasons. They had each other. They had their brothers. And a sister.

Adriana had just come back from checking on all the Easy company planes and was heading to hers, when she saw her father. She felt tears come to her eyes and she ran to him. He caught her and held her. For a minute she forgot about the men around her, and what they were about to do. She forgot about the war and how many men had died and how many more were going to die. All she felt was her father's strong arms around her. She too remembered when she was a child. So many nights she had longed to be in her father's arms, but couldn't because he was away at war. Now she was going to war, and she knew she would still long to be in her father's safe embrace. She looked up at him.

"I'm going to miss you father," she said, her eyes still shining.

"And I you. But don't worry dear. I'll be here when you get back."

"You promise?"

"Of course I do," he said. "No go. We wouldn't want you to miss your plane."

He smiled and gave her a push then grabbed her arm. She turned grey eyes on him question eyes on him.

"Adriana. I'm proud of you. Always remember that."

"I love you father."

"I love you too. Now go. And please be careful."

* * *

_**Please review!**_


	8. Jumping From an Inferno

_**Hi all! I really liked this chapter so I hope you do to!**_

_**I want to say thank you to Heartbeats and The everchanging. You guys are my favorites! Update your stories soon!**_

_**Unfortunatly I don't own Band of Brothers or any of those characters.**_

Adriana quickly wiped the tears from her face as she walked away from her father. Her face was dry when she made it to Johnny Martin who was watching Guarnere walk away. He looked upset.

"What's wrong with Bill?" she asked.

"He just found out his brother was killed," Martin said somewhat sullenly.

"Who the hell thought it was a good idea to tell him that a few hours before the jump?" Adriana asked annoyed.

"He took my jacket accidentally and he saw the note my wife wrote me. She keeps up with casualties," Martin said dropping his gaze.

"Oh," said Adriana sheepishly. "It's not your fault then. I'm sure he will be alright," though she was not sure. "I'll see yah in Normandy Martin," she said and dashed off after Guarnere.

Martin shook his head and turned back to help the Paratrooper with his gear.

"Bill!" Adriana shouted chasing him down.

Guarnere didn't stop walking and when she caught up to him he didn't even look at her.

"Bill?" she asked.

When he didn't acknowledge her at all she touched his arm. He stopped and looked at her. His face was impossible to read, but his eyes weren't. They held so much emotion and Adriana just wanted to hug him, but she didn't.

"Bill? Are you alright to jump?"

"I'm fine Rosie," he said smiling, but the smile didn't touch his eyes.

He started to walk away but Adriana grabbed his arm with more force and turned him back to her.

"Bill I need you to concentrate on your jump, so if you need to talk about it do it now."

"When we see each other again, I'll tell you all about it," Guarnere hissed then wrenched his arm from her grip.

"I'm counting on that Bill Guarnere," Adriana yelled after him.

He turned back to look at her and smiled at her determined face.

"You better be safe Rosie!" he shouted.

"You too Bill!"

With that they parted to their planes. Adriana took the long way around to her plane, checking on every man as she went past. Unfortunately, the soldier she was looking for seemed to be nowhere to be found. She wondered to herself why the short radioman was not at his plane, but she was distracted by Shifty running up to her.

"Hi Adri. Are you all ready?"

"I am Shifty. How about you?"

"I think so. I was just… well I hoped…"

"Yes?" Adriana prompted the fumbling solder.

"Well… I'm going to want this back next time you see me," Shifty said pressing a small object into her palm.

She looked at him surprised then opened her hand. It was a silver ring. She looked back up into his green eyes. A small smile had crossed his face. Adriana touched his shoulder but he pulled her into him. He leaned down so his lips were against her ear.

"Please be careful Adri."

"You too Shifty. I'll see you on the ground."

Their hug lasted a few more seconds, then he reluctantly let her go. He squeezed her hand and turned back to his plane. She slid the ring on her middle finger and turned toward her plane, only to be met with Talb.

"Hey Rosie. Lt. Winters just told me that you and I are assigned to another plane. Some last minute changes or some shit. Either way, now we are on Meehan's plane."

"Alright Talb. I'll be over there in a minute, she said.

She had just spied the soldier she was searching for. Talb followed her gaze and smiled knowingly, though she missed it. She trotted off toward the forlorn looking soldier. He was talking to Perconte with a rather tired expression. Perconte noticed her first and ran to her hitting Luz's shoulder with his own spinning the radio man on the spot. As soon as Luz saw her, his eyes lit up. He followed Perconte over to her and waited for his turn as Perconte enveloped their small Lt. in a hug.

"Perconte I want nothing more than for you to get stuck in a tree on your way to the ground. I'm going to find you and laugh my ass off, and then I'll save yours," Adriana said slapping him on the back.

"Yeah, yeah. But you are alright? You're ready for this?"

"Yeah Perco, I'm ready. I swear to god if someone else asks if I'm ready I'm going to start swinging."

"Well good luck," Perconte said giving her one last squeeze then turned her over to Luz.

"George Luz I have been looking everywhere for you!" Adriana said as Luz went to hug her.

"Well Bell, I have been looking for you too. Why weren't you at your plane?"

"Talb and I got moved to Meehan's plane," she informed him.

"Oh you get to talk to our new company commander?"

"Sounds like fun right?" Adriana asked.

"Yeah right. Listen Bell I want you to be careful alright? Don't be a hero."

"Me? A hero? Please," Adriana scoffed.

"I'm serious," Luz said holding both of her shoulders so she was forced to look into her eyes.

Adriana had never seen Luz so serious.

"I'll be fine Luz," she said, then thought about the ring on her finger. "Here"

She reached behind her neck and undid the silver necklace. She pulled it out of her shirt and laid it in Luz's open hand. The silver cross reflected brilliantly off his dirty palm.

"You a believer?" Luz asked looking up.

"Depends on how the jump goes," Adriana said. "I'll want this back next time you see me."

Luz looked back down at it then into her eyes.

"Good luck," she said.

"I'll see you on the ground Bell," Luz said pulling her in for another hug.

He kissed her on the forehead and turned back to his plane. After realizing what had just happened, Adriana smiled and ran to where Talb was waving her over.

"You almost missed your flight Lt." Meehan said nodding to her.

"Sorry sir. Just had to check on the men."

"You are a good leader miss Roosevelt."

"Please sir, call Me Adriana."

He nodded and put out a hand to her. He helped her and Talb onto the plane then pulled himself on just as the planes rumbled to life. Adriana jumped a little but Talb smiled and put a hand on her knee.

"You're going to be fine," Talb said in her ear.

She looked at him surprised. She had never heard any of her men say that before. They always asked if she was alright. This was new and she liked it.

"Thanks Talb," she said.

He patted her knee then leaned back against the planes interior and he was asleep within the minute. She decided to try to sleep as well. The airsickness pills were making her dizzy. She copied Talb and fell into a restless sleep.

A long time later, she never found out how long, she was thrown from her seat by a bumpy plane ride. She felt Talb land on her back, sending the air from her lungs. The plane's engines were roaring so the only thing she could hear was Talb's heavy breathing against her cheek. After a few seconds, he pushed away from her and helped her up.  
"What's happening?" she shouted.

"Who the hell knows? I was asleep!" Talb shouted back.

Adriana threw herself back to her seat by the door and looked out. She was there just in time to see one of their C-47s going down in flames.

"Holy shit," she whispered to herself. "Talb!"

He was at her side in seconds. His reaction was the same as hers.

"That was one of ours," she said.

Talb knew which soldier was on her mind.

"Luz is fine," he assured her.

She didn't say anything but here eyes were round and terrified.

"Concentrate on the jump," Talb said shaking her shoulders. "All the men will be alright."

"What about the ones that just went down in the flaming C-47?" she asked.

Talb had nothing to answer her but luckily the red light had just gone on. He yanked her up and hooked himself up then turned to hook her up, but she was already hooked and turned around helping another soldier to his feet. She turned back to him and her eyes were back to normal.

"You good?" he asked.

She nodded just as the plane lurched sideways and almost threw Talb out the door. Luckily he caught himself on the edge but what he saw didn't make him feel good. The left engine of the plane was on fire.

"Shit. Meehan! Meehan sir! I think we should go sir!" Talb shouted.

Meehan was in the front of the plane so Talb only had seconds to think about what he was going to do. He could go get Meehan and risk getting blown to hell or he could throw Adriana and himself out of the plane and defiantly live. He chose the latter.

"Time to go Rosie," he said and grabbed Adriana by the vest.

Despite her protests about the light she came willingly and jumped by herself. Talb started counting and got to four seconds before the engine exploded sending fire through the plane. Talb had about four seconds to look for Meehan then throw himself from the plane getting out just in time. As the prop blast tore his leg bag from him he realized his arm was on fire.

"Shit," he cursed and beat his left arm with his right.

Eventually the fire was out but his sleeve was literally gone up to just above the elbow, and his hand was already starting to blister. He cursed again and looked below him for Adriana. He easily found her white chute against the dark ground, but then he noticed where they were going to land. They were headed for a wooded area. Rose was already enveloped by branches, and soon enough, he was also.

He landed right next to Adriana. They were caught a good thirty feet above the ground. Talb tried unsuccessfully to free his chute. It was hopelessly tied up. He glanced at Adriana, but realized she was unconscious. 'That's why she hadn't navigated away from the trees,' Talb thought to himself.

"Hey, Rosie," Talb said quietly poking her with his elbow.

She stirred.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I… I think so. I hit my head on the side of the plane," she said rubbing the back of her skull.

"Sorry we had to get out of there in a hurry," Talb said.

"Why?" she asked.

Talb looked up and she followed his gaze. The entire fuselage of their plane was on fire and going down.

"Is that our plane?" Adriana asked.

"Yeah. We got out of there just in time."

"How did you know?" Adriana asked him.

"I saw the left engine on fire. I knew I needed to get us out of there."

"Thanks Talb. Even if you did give me a concussion," she said the last part with a smile.

Talb smiled but winced when he moved his hand.

"Lemmy see Talb," she ordered.

She never missed anything so he leaned over and let her examine his hand. She saw how the arm of his uniform was gone and his hand was close to charred. She looked up at him, her eyes shining with worry, even in the dim light. He shrugged.

"I didn't quite get out in time."

"We need to get down," she said leaning down and pulling a knife from her boot.

Talb raised his eyebrows impressed. She reached behind her and pulled up her leg bag by the rope and started to cut it. It dropped harmlessly to the ground. Once the bag was off her she started to saw through the thick material of her chute.

"How did you manage to keep that leg bag on?" Talb asked, wishing he still had his.

"Well they are supposed to stay on right?" she asked.

"Mine didn't," Talb said.

"Sorry to hear that. Do you have your gun?"

"No," Talb confessed. "It was in my bad. Along with everything else."

"Awesome," Adriana said stiffly.

She had cut through one strap and was now hanging sideways. Talb had to stifle a laugh. He was pretty sure she wouldn't appreciate it at that moment. She put her knife in her teeth and pulled herself up onto a branch while she cut the other strap. As she sawed away, six Germans walked under the tree. Talb almost didn't notice them, but when he did he stopped Adriana and shushed her. She looked at him then down at the Germans who had stopped and were reading a map.

A wave of terror ran through Adriana. She and Talb were hanging helplessly from a tree like Christmas decorations. Talb was hurt and had no weapon, and her weapon was in her leg bag that had conveniently landed in patch of tall grass, and had yet gone unnoticed by the Germans. She only could hope they didn't look up. As if they could read her mind, one did. She felt Talb squeeze her arm and they both froze, but the German saw them.

_**Cliffhangerzies! Yay**_

_**Hope you guys enjoy! Look for another update soon!**_


	9. Climbing a Tree

_**Hey guys! New chapter! I hope you enjoy!**_

_**Also, its probably pretty obvious, but the parts you don't understand are in German. I may have gone a little crazy with the German and French but i just got a new app on my phone. haha good luck reading it!**_

"Amerikaner! Amerikaner!" (American! American!) the German shouted pointing up at them.

"Shit," Talb cursed.

"Hol sie dir!" (get them) the German shouted, now having the others attention.

Adriana cut through the last strand of her chute and began on Talb's.

"Just get out of here, Adri," he said seriously as the Germans began to climb the tree.

Why the Germans didn't just shoot them was a wonder to Adriana, but she wasn't going to leave him.

"No way in hell Talb. We are getting out of this."

It only took Adriana thirty seconds to cut through his chute. When he was free they began to climb. Up was the only way they could go at the moment, and it was slow going because Talb couldn't use his hand. When the Germans realized they were free was when they opened fire. Luckily they weren't that great with their weapons anyway, and the tree was making them unable to hit the broad side of a barn. Occasionally a bullet would hit a branch close to Adriana and once a bullet whizzed by Talb's head.

Adriana reached behind her to help Talb up to the next branch, only to find him not there. He was being pulled backward by one of the Germans. They had somehow caught his leg with a rope. Talb kicked out with his free leg, but there was nothing there to kick. The Germans were still ten feet under them. Adriana let go of the branch she was holding onto and fell back down to the branch Talb was trying to hold onto.

She grabbed his unhurt hand and pulled. The Germans started shouting to one another and one of them opened fire on Adriana. She yelped as she felt hot led rip through her upper arm and fell down onto a lower branch.

"Rosie!" Talb shouted, but while trying to look for her, the Germans pulled on his leg, and he went crashing through the branches.

Apparently the Germans didn't really think they would be able to pull Talb out of the tree because none of them could do anything when Talb came smashing through the branches taking them down with him. They hit the ground with a loud thud that shook the tree. By now Adriana had gotten her senses together and was dropping down from branch to branch like a monkey. She dropped the last five feet and landed on one of the Germans.

As she landed on him she heard a crack and he didn't move. That still left her and Talb two to five. Not very good odds, but Talb had landed on the Germans, so they were disoriented. Adriana got up and pulled her knife out of her boot. She buried it in the neck of the first German and aimed for the second one, but he managed to block her knife from hitting his neck, though it was with his hand. He screamed as the knife cut through his palm like butter.

Before she had time to pull the knife out however, he kicked upward and into her chest. She rolled off of him and sprawled out against the tree. He wasted no time jumping on top of her and putting both hands around her throat. He began squeezing and lights popped before her eyes. She clawed at his hands and face. She could faintly hear Talb yelling her name, but he was dealing with three men all alone.

Adriana pulled back her fist and threw it forward with all her strength. It met its mark knocking the German off her for a few seconds, but he was back immediately at her neck. She could feel herself slipping from consciousness, but she fought it long enough to land her knee in the German's groin, although it didn't help. The last thing she heard before the darkness overtook her was Talb yelling her name.

Talb had long since been caught by the tree Germans that were left. The one that was on top of Adriana had blood running down his face and was leaning over holding his groin. Talb couldn't help but smile despite their somewhat desperate situation.

"Verdammt Frau," (damn woman) the German hissed falling over still holding himself.

Then he turned back and threw his hands around her neck again. She was already unconscious, but her body responded to lack of air by flopping around.

"Rosie! Leave her alone you bastards!" Talb shouted trying and failing to rip his arms out of the German's grip.

"Nicht jammern Idiot. Halten sie lebendig. Wir haben Spal mit ihren spateren," (stop complaining you idiot. Keep her alive. We will have some fun with her later) one of the Germans said laughing. "Aber er," (but he) the German said poking Talb in the side of the head with his gun. "mehr Arger, al ser wert ist. Totet ihn." (will be more trouble than he is worth. Kill him.)

Talb didn't know what was being said, but the first German finally left Adriana alone and when the German pointed the gun at him he thought it was going to be over before he had even gotten into combat. He tried to pull out of the German's grasp and kicked back. He felt his foot connect with something, but it only crippled one German. Two more were still holding him.

"Erschiebt ihn! Jetzt! Jetzt!" (Shoot him! Now! Now!)

Talb refused to give up that easily, but before he could do anything else two shots rang out. Everyone dropped to the ground, but Talb realized two of the Germans were dead. The other two Germans realized it also and began talking in panicked tones. Talb just stayed still until he heard a cricket. It clicked three times in a row.

'Holy shit, thank God for paratroopers,' Talb thought to himself.

He reached up to his dog tags and clicked his cricket. The answering click came from his left. Suddenly there was another shot and the German closest to Talb was dead. The other one stood up immediately and threw his hands in the air.

"Nicht schieben! Ich bin kein Nazi!" (don't shoot! I'm not a Nazi) the German yelled spinning in on the spot.

Suddenly there was another shot and blood sprayed from his chest. He fell and Talb crawled to Adriana's side. To his surprise Doc Roe emerged from the bushes, holding a Kraut weapon.

"You two a'right?" he asked.

"I am but Adriana is unconscious," Talb answered laying her flat on the ground.

Roe dropped the weapon and jogged to Talb's side. He knelt and felt for a pulse. After a second of nothing he loosened her shirt collar and took a deep breath. He leaned down, plugged her nose and sealed his lips around hers. He gave her two breaths then turned but Talb was already there. He pumped her chest five times then Roe repeated the two breaths. As he waited for Talb to do the chest compressions he looked down at their little Lt. She was technically dead. This couldn't happen to her. Not now. This was just the beginning and the men needed her. He leaned down for a third time and felt her lips under his. They were cold, but suddenly air came back into his mouth. He pulled away and gently helped her sit up. She was coughing and sputtering, but she was alive.

"Take it easy Adriana. Easy. You're a'right."

She knew that impossibly adorable Cajun drawl.

"Doc?" she rasped.

"Don't talk," he said.

Adriana's vision wasn't clear enough yet to see Roe, but his voice seemed to be the most soothing thing she had heard all day. Suddenly she remembered her jumping partner.

"Talb," she said rather loudly.

"Yeah I'm here, Rosie," he said coming into her line of sight.

"Your… arm," she coughed out.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Roe said looking at him.

"Our plane went down, and I almost didn't get out," said Talb holding out his arm with a shrug.

Roe examined his hand then dug in his medical bag, eventually pulling out a white cream.

"How bad does it hurt?" Roe asked tenderly extending his fingers.

His sudden intake of breath told him how much it hurt. Adriana slid her hand over Talb's clenched fist. Instantly it relaxed and she slipped her hand into his.  
"Your alright Talb," she assured him.

As Roe peeled away the blistered flesh, Talb squeezed her hand. Only then did she remember the bullet in her shoulder. She looked down at it and only saw a little blood so that had to be a good thing. For now, she had to concentrate on Talb. After a lot of pain for both her and Talbert, Roe had finished wrapping his hand. Roe had just looked up from Talb's hand when he spied the patch of blood getting bigger on her shoulder.

"Well I guess it's a good thing I found you two. Your barely on the ground an' your a'ready fallin' apart."

Roe instructed Adriana to take off her jacket. She complied and he examined her wound. She watched his concentrated face change to relief.

"The bullet only grazed your shoulder."

He put sulfate powder on it and taped it up.

"Now. Is there any other wounds either of you have?" he asked looking between them.

They shook their heads and Adriana stood, but almost fell over. She steadied herself on Talb's shoulder.

"You sure you're ready to move?" he asked standing, but not letting go of her hand.

"Yeah Talb. We need to find the drop zone, and re-group with Easy. Also, Winter's needs to know about Lt. Meehan," Adriana said.

She shook her head to rid herself of the dizzy feeling then trotted over to her leg bag. She knelt and dug through it, pulling out her M-1 and ammunition. She then stood and hoisted the bag to her shoulders

"Where's your leg bag?" she asked Roe.

"Lost it to the prop blast," he said.

Adriana nodded then said, "Let's move."

"Adriana?" Roe said.

She turned to him.

"Don't talk so much. You were just choked to death. Let your throat heal."

Adriana smiled.

"Yes Doc," Adriana complied.

Hours later, Adriana had successfully lead Roe and Talb through dense trees, past companies of Germans, and finally to the farm that was their assembly area. The sun was just coming over the horizon when they got there. There were a few people milling around, but no one knew any of them.

"This is our assembly area right?" Talb asked as they walked into further into town.

"This is it," Adriana said.

The three of them walked around for a few minutes, and when they didn't find anyone they knew Adriana spoke up.

"Well boys seeing as there isn't anyone here yet, I say we get some rest."

She nodded to the barn then looked at the men next to her. They agreed wholeheartedly. The barn was full of hay. Perfect for sleeping on. When they made themselves beds, Roe checked both of their injuries again then laid down himself. He was out almost instantly.

"How do they do it?" Talb asked leaning back on his pillow of hay with his good arm behind his head.

"How does who do what?" Adriana asked looking curiously at him.

"Medics. How do they sleep so easy?"

"We haven't been in war yet. Roe hasn't seen anything that should keep him awake. None of us have. I'm sure by the end of this week though, we will all be having a hard time sleeping," Adriana answered.

"So we should get as much as we can now," Talb said smiling.

Adriana nodded and put her hand up to her neck where her cross should have been. At first she thought she lost it, but then remembered her radioman. '_Wait_,' she thought. _'Did I just call him _my_ radioman?' _She liked the way that sounded.

"Talb?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think everyone else is alright?" she asked.

Talb opened his eyes and threw an arm over the side of his hay bale. Adriana looked up at him, her eyes uncharacteristically dark.

"I think he is fine," Talb said with a knowing smile.

Adriana looked up at him, emotion flashing through her amber eyes. She shook her head and said in a very unconvincing tone, "I don't know who you're talking about."

He fell back onto his hay bed laughing.

"Get some rest Talb. And stop laughing at me."

Luz's ride from his plane to the ground was not as eventful as Adriana's and Talb's but when he finally hit the ground he was alone. His fear for the woman in their company was paralyzing. So much more so when he wasn't with her. He had no idea if she was alright, even alive. The thoughts bouncing around in his mind were all of Adriana lying, helpless in a ditch somewhere, or being raped by some German bastard. All of his thoughts had her alone, with none of her brothers to help her.

He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by machine gun fire. He hit the ground and army crawled to a low wall. There he got up on his elbows and held his M-1 in front of him. Abruptly a door slammed open behind him. He rolled onto his back and aimed at the house. She was making hand motions at him.

"Americain? Americain? Des soldats allemands! En venant sur la route. Haate! Haate!" (American? American? German soldiers, coming up the road. Hurry, Hurry!"

She was talking in hurried French, so Luz caught almost none of it. He understood American and German.

"Haate!" she whispered frantically.

He looked over the wall then ran to her door and inside. She slammed the door, locked it then turned to him.

"Lenore," she said pressing her hand to her chest.

"George," he said doing the same. "Thank you… uum… Je vous remercie."

The way she raised her eyebrows at him, he figured his thank you came out wrong, but she seemed to get the message.

"Umm can you help me? I'm a little lost," Luz said pulling out a map.

She grabbed a candle and brought it to the table and motioned for the map. Luz brought it over and she looked at it for a few seconds then she pointed.

"Ici. Nous sommes ici." (Here. We are here.)

"Ok good. I need to get here," Luz said pointing to the assembly area.

He was mostly talking to himself but Lenore pointed to a road on the map.

"You want me to go this way? It's almost six hours out of my way."

"Il est sur. Coffre-fort. Coffre-fort." (It's safe. Safe. Safe.)

She said the last word a few times trying to make him understand.

"I don't speak French," Luz said Frustrated.

Lenore looked like she was thinking very hard. Finally she said one word very slowly.

"Safe." She pointed to the road on the map. "Safe."

Luz nodded.

"Je yous remercie," he said then turned to leave.

As he went to open the door a voice could be heard outside.

"Offnen Sie die Tur!" (Open the door)

"Shit," Luz swore.

_**Hope you all enjoy!**_

_**remember to review!**_


	10. Brecourt

_**Alright guys I'm done with all the annoying translations. I promise. Here is the new chapter!**_

_**Also I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the ridiculous lack of creativity. I mostly followed the movie for this but anyway. Keep up with me. I have some pretty interesting things coming in the next few chapters.**_

Lenore was at Luz's side in an instant. She said something in German then grabbed Luz's arm. She pulled him to the table and pushed the table over six feet. She knelt down, moved the rug and pulled up a door that led under the house.

"In," she said. "Safe."

Luz thanked her and hopped in. He looked back up at her.

"Stay," she said making a hand gesture.

He nodded and she quietly closed the door and threw the rug back over. Luz heard the table slide back into place then the door open. The German soldier did not sound happy, but that could have just been the way the Germans sounded. Suddenly Luz could feel someone under the house with him.

"Luz?"

He spun around coming face to face with a bloody Perconte.

"Perco!" Luz said rather loudly for their situation.

Luz threw an arm around his friend ecstatic to see a familiar face.

"How did you get here?" Luz asked in a hurried whisper.

"I crawled in from over there," Perconte said pointing. "There was a whole damn company coming after me. I-" but he was interrupted by the door slamming open and Lenore yelling.

Luz and Perconte looked up through the slats in the floor boards. They could only see movement, but it looked like the Germans were tearing up the house looking for something. Lenore was shouting at them but they didn't seem to care.

Luz looked around the space they were in. It was nothing more than a crawl space with a small opening on the far side. It was such a small space, that they had to lay flat in the dirt. They army crawled further from the door and trained their rifles incase the Germans found the door. At the moment Lenore was yelling at the Germans just as loudly as they were yelling at her. Suddenly Lenore screamed followed by a loud thud.

Luz almost went up there but Perconte grabbed his arm. Lenore was still yelling, but now her yells were more desperate. Finally they turned into cries and sobs. Perconte was having to hold his friend back now.

"We have to help her, Perco!" Luz whispered frantically. "She helped me!"

"I don't give a damn. We aren't going to die for her," Perconte said successfully keeping his emotions at bay and thinking rationally.

The German's threw Lenore to the ground so her face was right above Luz.

"Go," she whispered. "Safe."

Luz shook his head like she could see him.

"Go," she repeated. "Go."

"You hear that Luz? Let's get out of here," Perconte said pulling his arm.

Finally Luz sighed and turned from Lenore and followed Perconte out from under the house. Once outside, the two Paratroopers hurried to the cover of trees. Halfway there, a scream echoed across the field and Luz almost turned back, but he didn't. He hung his head and followed Perconte. He was an American Paratrooper. He was better than this. He shouldn't have left. He should turn back. But he didn't. He didn't.

Adriana, Talb and Roe slept for a few hours before the first men from Easy made their way to the farm. They came in groups of four or five, but the first man who was her friend who showed up was Liebgott. He joined them on the hay bales and they exchanged stories. Lieb laughed hard when Talb told how he and Adriana got stuck in a tree, but was glad they were alright. Especially Adriana.

After about three hours a lot more of Easy men had come in. Buck, Skinny, and Gordon had come in together, and Winters had just made it with Malarkey, Popeye, Toye, Guarnere, Lipton and some 82nd boys and an Able Company kid named Hall.

"Winters. Good to see you sir," Adriana greeted him.

"And you Lt. You were on Meehan's plane, were you not?" he asked.

"Yes sir, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Adriana said dropping her gaze.

"What happened?" Winters asked.

"Talb and I were the only ones who got out of that plane. It went down. Lt. Meehan is gone sir."

Winters nodded, his face impossible to read, as always.

"Sir doesn't that make you the commander of Easy?" she asked.

"Go rally the men. We are going to need everyone. Tell them to meet in the barn. We are going on a mission."

"Yes sir," Adriana said and went to find her men.

She jogged through the throngs of people yelling for Easy company.

"Easy company! Assemble on me! Malarkey, Toye, Guarnere, let's go!"

"Where we off to Rosie?" Malarkey asked jogging to her side.

"We have a mission to go on," she answered waving Popeye over.

"We just got here," Guarnere complained.

"It doesn't matter. We have a job to do," Adriana answered as they reached the barn. "Bill."

She grabbed his arm

"We don't have time right now, but we are going to talk after this mission."

Guarnere smiled genuinely and squeezed her hand.

"I wouldn't have it any other way Rosie."

He winked at her then they entered the barn. They found Winters and all the other Easy men. Buck was in the middle of saying, "Yeah but sir, does the Major know we only have twelve Easy Company men."

"No that didn't come up," Winters said. "The 88s we've been hearing have been spotted in a field down the road a ways. Major Strayer wants us to take them out. There are two guns firing on Utah beach. We are planning on a third and a forth here and here."

Winters marked the guns on a piece of paper.

"The Germans are in the trenches with access to the entire battery with a machine gun covering the rear. We will establish a base of fire and move under it hard and fast with two squads of three."

He looked up and his icy blue eyes asked for questions. Guarnere spoke up.

"How many Krauts they think we're facin'?"

"No idea," Winters responded.

"No idea," Guarnere echoed nodding.

"We'll take some TNT along with us. To spike the guns. Lipton your responsibility."

"Yes sir," he nodded.

"Liebgott, you'll take the first machine gun with Petty A Gunner. Plesha, Hendrics, you take the other. Who does that leave?"

The rest of them raised their hand.

"Roosevelt, where is Talbert?" Winters asked when he didn't see him in the group.

"Talb hurt his hand on the jump sir. Roe says he has a 2nd degree burn."

Winters nodded and said, "Compton, Malarkey, Toye, Guarnere, Roosevelt. We'll be making the main assault. Is that understood?"

Everyone chorused 'Yes sir."

"Alright let's pack it up boys," Lip said.

Adriana noticed the exchange that went on between Hall, Toye and Guarnere. Apparently Hall wanted to go on the mission and Toye and Guarnere were not disappointed he wasn't. Once outside gathering their stuff, Winters continued to give out instructions.

"Lipton, when you see we've captured the first gun, I want you and your TNT as fast as possible."

"Yes sir," was the always prompt reply.

"Ok just weapons and ammo. Drop everything else. Got any spare ammo in a pack or a muset bag, bring it along."

As Winters got his gear together a kid approached him.

"Um Lt. sir. I was wondering sir if you needed an extra hand."

"Ain't you Sinks jeep driver?" Toye asked.

"So?" he asked sounding somewhat offended.

"Aww shit," Guarnere spat.

"What's your name trooper?" Winters asked ignoring Guarnere.

"Lorrain," he said.

"You're with me Lorrain," Winters said as he moved out. "Compton second squad."

"Yes sir!"

"Alright boys you heard the word let's move! Let's move!" Lipton yelled.

It only took them a few minutes to reach the guns. To the front of the German position, Liebgott and Petty set up their machine gun on Winters order. Adriana was waiting for orders with the men while Buck and Winters discussed what to do. Winters was back and talking to Lipton. After a second Lip and Ranny darted off to the left.

Adriana and the men waited as Liebgott and Petty opened up on the German machine gun, then Buck came by and took Malarkey and Guarnere with him. Winters signaled Adriana and she and the rest of the men opened fire on the machine gun as well. The air around Adriana was electric with bullets whizzing back and forth and branches flying. Adriana pushed back away from the bushes and shouldered her rifle.

"Keep your heads down boys!" she shouted as she ran up behind the prone figures of her men. "Aim carefully and conserve ammo!"

She dropped down between Toye and Popeye and got a few more rounds off.

"What the hell are we waiting for!" Toye shouted just as three grenades exploded.

"That!" Adriana said hearing Winters yelling.

Winters darted out onto the field followed closely by Adriana and the rest of the men behind her. Bullets hit the ground at their feet but miraculously, they made it to the trenches without getting shot. All but poor Popeye. As he was about to jump into the trench, a stray bullet hit him. He fell forward and Toye drug him into the trench.

Adriana popped up over the edge of the trench and emptied her magazine into the backs of fleeing Germans. Lorrain aimed for a German but missed a few hundred times, forcing Guarnere to take him down.

"Jeezus Christ," he drawled, hitting Lorrain with his shoulder as he passed.

Adriana shook her head at the Jeep driver and went to help Toye with Popeye.

"I'm sorry sir I screwed up," Popeye was wailing.

"Your alright, Popeye," Adriana said kneeling and holding the Sulfate for Joe.

Suddenly Winters was shouting, "GRENADE! Joe! Toye! Roll out roll out!"

Toye had less than a second to react and he threw himself over Popeye just as the grenade went off. Adriana was thrown backward into Guarnere who caught her and covered her from falling debris. When the dust had settled they all looked at Toye's legs. Astoundingly, everything was right where it was supposed to be.

"Your one lucky bastard, Joe!" Guarnere yelled.

The relief was easy to hear in his voice. Adriana continued to help Toye with Popeye until winters called her name.

"Roosevelt! Take Malarkey, Lorrain, and Guarnere and secure that gun! Everyone else covering fire!"

"Yes sir! You heard him boys let's go!"

Adriana tapped the men's shoulders and she ran past. They tossed two grenades in to make sure the Germans were gone then they crawled in, but they were pinned down behind the gun.

"Lorrain, Guarnere go right. Malarkey with me left."

They crawled around the gun and got to the wall where they were able to sit up and fire their weapon's and still have cover.

"They got the second gun!" Guarnere yelled.

"Hey I think one of those dead Krauts has a luger!" Malarkey yelled as he reloaded.

"So what?" Guarnere asked as Leib and Petty heaved themselves over the sandbags.

Without warning Malarkey dashed onto the open field.

"Malarkey get the fuck back here!" Adriana yelled. "Stupid son of a bitch."

Malarkey was laying flat on the ground behind a dead Kraut.

"Christ they must think he is a medic or something!" Petty said as they all watched in awe.

"He's gonna need a Gawd damn medic," Guarnere hissed switching positions.

With another yell from Liebgott, Malarkey stood up and zigzagged back toward them. After falling twice, it was a wonder how he managed to get back in one piece. As soon as he was back, Easy opened fire on the other side.

"Did yah get your freaken luger yah stupid mic?" Guarnere spat as Malarkey panted.

Adriana was about to punch Malarkey when Winters grabbed her arm and yelled, "Where is Lipton and that TNT?"

"I don't know sir!" she answered.

As they were all waiting for Lipton, Hall and another Able guy threw themselves over the sand bags.

"Hey yah cowboy!" Guarnere greeted him.

"Shut your fucking trap gonorrhea!" Hall shouted over the flying bullets.

"He's alright that kid," Guarnere said to Malarkey.

"Jeezus you got a whole fuckin Kraut platoon out there!" the Captain of Able said. "Need help?"

"I need ammo captain! Lots of it! And TNT!"

"I have TNT sir!" Hall shouted.

Winters and Hall moved back to set the TNT.

"Sir I don't have any way to set it off sir!"

Adriana continued firing while Winters and Hall looked for a way to set off the TNT until Winters yelled, "Fire in the hole!"

Everyone covered their heads, and Guarnere not to discreetly threw an arm over Adriana's head. She pushed him away and glared at him.

"What?" he asked.

Adriana didnt have time to answer because Winters yelled, "Plesha! Covering fire! Third gun here! Lorrain, grab some more of those Potato mashers and follow me! Malarkey, Hall, you two go."

Winter's orders were followed at once to a T. Adriana turned and emptied another clip out into the Germans when Lip fell over the sand bag wall ready with his TNT. Guarnere informed him they didn't need it because of Hall.  
"Lip! Stay here. I'll be back!"

"Here! Take the TNT to Winters just in case!" Lip yelled throwing her the bag.

She took off. As she was coming around a corner she ran headlong into Malarkey who fell on his butt.

"Jesus Rosie. Watch where your going will yah?"

"Give me some of that," she said taking some ammo for her M-1. "Be careful."

He nodded and took off. Adriana continued toward the second gun. She passed it and came to a short spot in the trenches. She ducked her head and charged through almost falling over Hall's dead body.

"Shit," she swore. "Just when we were starting to like him."

At the third gun she heard men yelling and grenades going off. She hit the ground as a grenade exploded behind her. She then crawled to the third gun and to Winters' side.

"I have TNT sir! Lipton finally got to the first gun!"

"We don't need it Lt. But we will at the next gun," Winters said nodding to the last 88.

"Is that Speirs sir?" Adriana asked.

"Yes it is," he said amused. "Once that gun is blown, tell them to move out."

"Yes sir," Adriana said and dashed toward the last gun.

She threw the TNT to Speirs and relayed Winter's orders then took off back toward Easy. Sprinting through the trenches, tripping over Germans, was exhausting, and the bullet wound in her shoulder was beginning to bleed. She got back to the line of Easy company men as Winters was yelling orders to them.

"MGs first!" he yelled to the machine gunners. "Everyone else maintain your base of fire!"

He jogged back and forth behind the men waiting for the MG to get back to their original positions. Adriana stood and began firing glancing at Toye, who was on her right until Winters yell for them all to fall back.

As she ran, Adriana smiled to herself. 'This wasn't that hard,' she thought. 'More missions like this and Easy Company will be fine.'

Little did she know how much pain had already happened, and how many lives were affected by the day and a half in combat. Our selfless Lt. still had a lot to learn about war and sacrifice. The whole company did. But what happened during the next year would bring them closer than friends. They would be brothers.

_**Alright guys tell me what you think about the last part especially. I wasn't too sure how to end this chapter but I like the ending I came up with. So tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is always good! Thanks!**_


	11. Reunited

_**Ok guys! Here is the next chapter!**_

_**I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who read and mostly to **__**Heratbeats77, The Everchanging, gothique4, and FireIsLove. **__**Someone who didn't leave their real name who called themselves 'the fan,' I also want to thank you for reading and reviewing, although there are some things I want to discuss with you about my story, so if you read this chapter message me, or leave your real name so I can message you! Thanks again everyone!**_

When they made it back to the farm Easy spread out to help the wounded or to scrounge what little food they could. Adriana went to go check on Talb and see if she couldn't get new bandages for her shoulder. She jogged into the barn and to the back corner that was being used for the few injured men. Talb was sitting next to Popeye with his hand in a bucket of water. He brightened when he saw her.

"Hey Roise!" he yelled. "How the hell are yah?"

"I'm doing fine Talb. What about you?"

"Roe's got me holding my hand in a bucket of ice water. Not bad except I'm freezin'" he complained.

Adriana smiled and sat between him and Popeye, who was lying on his stomach on a bunch of hay. She scooted closer the Talb who was actually very cold to the touch.

"Jeezus Talb. Did you dunk your entire body in a bucket of ice water?" she asked wrapping a blanket around his shoulders.

He laughed and shook his head just as they heard the jeep roll up to take them to the aid station. Adriana got up and helped the medics take Popeye out. Talb followed with his bucket. Once on the jeep Adriana placed a kiss on Talbert's cheek.

"Thanks again for saving my butt Talb," she said.

"It was my pleasure Rosie," Talb responded with a kiss of his own on her hand.

"Get your butt back out here alright?"

Talb nodded as the jeep pulled away. Adriana waved after him then sighed. As she breathed in she could smell something cooking. She followed her nose just as the sun went down and found a troops transport truck. Liebgott was just jumping out of the back.

"Don't go in there Rosie," he warned as he walked by.

Adriana jogged over just as Guarnere was about to close the flap.  
"Hey Bill," she sang.

"Heya Rosie! Yeah hungry?" he asked.

"Hell Yeah Bill. Move over."

She climbed in with help from Buck, and seated herself between Guarnere and Lipton.

"God what the hell is that smell?" she asked throwing her hand up to her face.

"You don't want to know," Buck said to her.

"How we doin' Malark?" Guarnere asked.

"We're going good," he answered after tasting whatever was in the MG ammo tin.

"What do you know about cooking your Irish," Buck said leaning over Adriana.

"Well if you have a reservation somewhere else, I'll be glad to join you sir," Malarkey said pouring the contents onto different plates.

They all laughed as Malarkey let one go, making the small space smell like death. Then Winters stuck his head under the flap.

"Evening," he said. "Did something die in here?"

"Yeah Malarkey's ass," Lipton said poking the fire with a stick.

The men laughed, then Buck looked at Winters seriously.

"Any word on Lt. Meehan yet sir?"

Winters glanced at Adriana. His eyes asked the question, 'you haven't told them yet?'

"Talb and I were on Meehan's plane. It went down. Talb and I were the only two that made it out."

The men looked at her wide eyed.

"Don't that make you our commanding officer sir?" Guarnere asked quietly.

"Yeah it does," Winters said looking at Guarnere.

"Sir," Joe toy offered Winters a bottle of wine.

"Eh the Lt. don't drink Joe," Guarnere said dismissively.

Winters hardly hesitated before he took the bottle.

"It's been a day of first," he said and had a swig. He almost choked.

This brought a snicker from the men.

"Don't you think Guarnere?" he asked handing him the bottle.

"Yes sir," said Guarnere after a few seconds hesitation.

"Carry on," Winters said backing out of the tent but he came back. "Oh, Sergeant? I'm not a Quaker."

Winters left and the rest of the men laughed and shoved Guarnere's shoulder. Adriana got up to leave too.

"Don't stay up to long boys. Get some rest. You may not get any for a while."

"Yes ma'am," they said.

"I'm comin' wit yah," Guarnere said hopping out of the truck first.

"Me too! I'm beat," Malarkey said.

She bid them goodnight and Guarnere helped her down from the truck.

* * *

"Shit, Luz I think you just made me twist my ankle," Perconte fumed as he stopped to nurse his leg.

"Stop being such a pussy. You're in the fucking airborne for god's sake. What would Sobel say?" Luz asked.

He was still in a bad mood from leaving Lenore with those Krauts. He grabbed Perconte's arm and pulled him up.

"Watch for the damn Germans," he said.

"Come on Luz. You're not still mad about having to leave that woman are you?" Perconte asked, hearing his friend's bad mood in his voice.

Luz didn't answer. He hardly spoke for the rest of the night as they walked, crouched over, hiding in the cold forest. Finally at about six am, they reached the assembly area. They walked in, both extremely tired and ready to knock out. They walked past Winters and almost didn't even notice him.

"Glad to see you both," he said.

They both turned on the spot and saluted.

"Sir! Didn't even see yah there," Perconte said.

"It's alright. You look exhausted. Go get some sleep. Easy is asleep in the barn," Winters said nodding toward it.

"Thank you sir," Luz said.

Winters nodded and they jogged into the barn where all the men they recognized were asleep. Perconte picked the first available patch of hay, but Luz continued to walk until he saw the soldier he was looking for. She was asleep beneath a blanket curled between Malarkey and Guarnere.

Luz felt a smile cross his face as he looked at her soft features. Her full lips were slightly parted and her eyelids were fluttering. Her chocolate hair fell in front of her face as she curled into a tighter ball against Malarkey's arm. Malarkey woke up as she subconsciously pressed into his side for warmth. He smiled down at her then noticed Luz. He motioned him over and with some maneuvering, he switched spots with him. Luz smiled and shook Malarkey's hand before he left and found another spot to sleep. Luz turned his attention to the small woman at his side.

He pulled away from her for only a second while he took off his restricting jacket off. He slid his arm under her head and pulled her into him. She didn't wake up, only re-adjusted herself against his side. Her petite hand came to rest on his chest, with her fingertips on his exposed collar bone. Every once in a while she would twitch and grip his collar bone. He would smile. He brushed the hair out of her eyes. Not that it was bothering her since her eyes were closed. He loved the feeling of her body pressed into his side. The warm breath that came and went on his neck. Her heartbeat against his shoulder. Everything that told him she was alive. After leaving Lenore, he wasn't sure if he could take being away from her for much longer. Luckily, he didn't have to be.

Adriana was aware of Malarkey's heartbeat before she was fully awake. She was having a dream it was Luz. His musty, sweet smell filled her nose and she was sure it was his arm she was resting her head on. After a few minutes she opened her eyes and looked up, expecting to see the red headed solder above her, but it was Luz. She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't still in her own mind. When she realized he was right there and she was sleeping in his arms, she was ecstatic.

"Luz!" she shouted throwing her arms around his neck and jolting him from his peaceful slumber.

"Shit, Bell," he swore, but a smile was on his face.

He sat up pulling her with him.

"I was afraid when you didn't show up yesterday," she confessed.

"Sorry Bells. I was fighten' the Germans. Couldn't have you on the brain all the time," he lied.

She pulled away from him and put her hand on his cheek. A grin spread across his face.

"We got in this morning," he said.

"We? Who was with you?" she asked glancing around, looking for new faces.

"Perco," Luz answered.

A wave of relief came over her face. Another good man was safe. The little Italian. Her little Italian. She smiled at the thought, then hugged Luz again. She was thankful to have all the men she had back.

"Bell! You're hurt!" Luz said loudly.

Adriana glanced to where Luz was pointing.

"Oh that. I got that when I jumped. Talb and I encountered some Germans. They shot at us and a bullet grazed my arm."

"Well I think we should get it cleaned up none the less," Luz said standing and reaching down to pull her up.

She sighed. She knew there was no dissuading the small radioman so she went with him to find Doc Roe.

_**So there it is! I very much hope you all enjoyed it! Remember to REVIEW! Love ya'all !**_


	12. Carentan

_**Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while longer since my last chapter.**_

_**I want to thank all my readers, especially my reviewers, Fireislove, Heartbeats77, and the everchanging.**_

_**Love you guys! So yeah please enjoy and I own nothing but Adriana Roosevelt.**_

Luz led Adriana around for a few minutes before they found the medic.

"Hey Doc," Luz greeted him.

"Good to see you George," Roe said shaking his hand.

"Yeah you too. Do you think you could fix up Bell's shoulder?"

"Let me take a look," he said motioning for Adriana to sit.

She did and Roe gently took off the bloody bandage.

"Did you get hurt anywhere else while you all were taking the guns yesterday?" he asked.

"No. Popeye was the only one to get hurt."

"What happened to Pop?" asked Luz, his eyes clouded with worry.

"Got shot in the ass," Adriana said smiling up at the radioman.

"No shit? Huh. He alright?"

"He should be fine," Roe answered as he cleaned Adriana's stitches.

"That's good. How does Bell look?"

Roe smiled as he covered the stitches with a piece of gauze.

"She needs her rest, but she is on the mend."

Roe knew that if he told Adriana she needed rest, she wouldn't take any heed to his orders, but if Luz knew she needed rest, he would make sure she got it. Just as he finished she stood unexpectedly.

"What the hell is he doing back here?" she asked annoyed.

Both men turned and saw Talbert, Blithe and Shifty entering town.  
"Didn't you send him to the aid station Doc?" she asked.

"That I did Lt," he answered wiping his hands on a cloth and standing.

"I thought so," she growled. "Floyd Talbert what the hell are you doing on the line?"

Talb had previously been talking to Liebgott and showing off a Kraut poncho, but when he saw Adriana he gulped.

"Nice to see you too Rosie," he said trying to keep his voice level.

"You think I'm happy to see you? You practically got your hand burnt off two days ago and now your back?"

"But look its fine!" he said happily showing her his wrapped hand that was obviously not fine.

"Go get it looked at by Doc Roe and then tell me that," she hissed. "Doc!"

Roe stepped up to her side, throwing Talbert a glare.

"Will you check Talbert out please? After you do, please tell me if you believe he is ready for duty."

"Yes ma'am," Roe said taking Talbert's good arm and dragging him over to the aid tent.

Adriana watched them go then turned to Shifty. Her expression immediately softened at his worried face.

"Aww Shift. I'm so glad to see you," she said wrapping her arms around his waist.

He was happy to envelope her in a warm embrace.

"You're ok?" he asked into her hair.

She nodded squeezing her arms tighter. He did the same. For a moment they just stood there, glad that the other one was ok. Finally, with one last squeeze, Adriana pushed away from him. He looked rather disappointed, but wiped that look off his face before she saw him.

"How was your jump?" she asked taking his arm and walking with him back to the square, where Easy Company was resting and regrouping.

"Not bad," Shifty said. "I landed in a lake."

"A lake?" Adriana laughed. "Talb and I landed in a tree."

"I know. He told me all about what happened."

Now Adriana knew why Shifty looked so worried when she first saw him.

"Damn. I'm going to kill Talb." Adriana vowed. "He better not tell anyone else,"

"I'm glad he told me," Shifty said quietly. "I've been worried about you since I watched you walk to your plane before we took off."

"Well thanks to Talb and Doc Roe, she is fine," Luz said walking up. "And why did I have to hear from Floyd that you were technically dead for almost two minutes?"

"Damn it," she said rolling her eyes.

"Whoa, Whoa what?" asked Perconte walking up with Liebgott.

"God damn it Luz," Adriana said as more men gathered around her.

They all pushed closer to her, including Luz. Shifty was the only one who began pushing people away from her.

"Alright, Alright!" she shouted halting the men pushing forward. "I'm only going to explain this once. After Talb and I landed, some Germans caught us and one of them choked me. I wouldn't have made it without Talb or Roe."

As she said the last part she found both men with her eyes and shot them smiles, though first Talb got a dirty look.

"So you were really dead?" asked Muck.

That question earned him a few smacks on the head and Adriana smiled.

"But really? You were dead?" it was Hoob this time.

He got the same treatment as Muck and Adriana pushed her way through the men to get to him. She snatched his cigarette and took a drag then stuck it back in his open mouth.

"Yeah boys I was dead. And I came back to kill these damn Germans, so don't cross me, because I CANT DIE!" she shouted throwing her hands into the air.

The men hollered and cheered until Welsh yelled for them.

"First Platoon! Move it!"

The men scrambled to get their stuff and fall in line. Roe, rather grudgingly, told Adriana that if he was careful, Talbert could stay in active duty. She nodded and turned to Talb and told him that if he failed to be careful, she would tie him up and personally carry him back to the aid station. He happily agreed to be careful.

Satisfied, she made her way to Welsh. She stepped up next to him as he took a swig of something that was most defiantly not water. He burped then yelled, "Easy is movin' out!"

"You drinkin' Harry?" Adriana asked smiling.

"Only a little," he slurred.

She rolled her eyes and took over for him.

"Alright listen up. It will be dark soon. I want noise and light discipline from here on out. No talking, no smoking and no playing grab fanny with the man or woman in front of you Luz," she said good naturedly singling him out.

"Where we going Lt?" one of the men asked Welsh.

"We are taking Carentan," he answered somewhat glumly. "It's the only place where armor from Utah beach can hook up and head inland. Until we take Carentan they are stuck on the sand."

"General Taylor is sending the whole division," Adriana explained to the men.

Luz scoffed.

"Remember boys. Gimmy three daaays and three niiights of hard fightin' and you will be relieved!"

A laugh ran through the crowd of men and Hoob stepped up to Adriana.

"Lt. I'll take point."

"Corporal Hoobler's lead scout," Welsh said. "First platoon fall in behind Fox Company. You men from second and third, follow us."

As the men moved out, Luz continued his General Taylor impression.

"And another thing to remember boys: flies spread disease. So keep yours closed."

The men laughed again and Adriana was amazed at how he was successfully keeping the everyone's spirits up. Their spirits didn't stay up however. After all night of marching and loosing Fox company three times they were finally at Carentan. It was almost ten a.m. and Easy company was hold up on the road, sitting low just under the hill. They were just out of the line of sight of Carentan's buildings, and potential snipers.

Adriana motioned for her men to stay put and she crawled up to where Welsh and Winters were. Winters was looking over the ridge then scooted back down to where Adriana and Welsh were waiting. Winters addressed Welsh first.

"I want you to take first right up the middle hard and fast. We have to move quickly. Roosevelt, I want you right behind him with second, and I'll be right behind you with third."

They nodded and Winters glanced back over the hill, then at his watch.

"Go," he whispered.

"Let's go first platoon!" Welsh whispered loudly.

Welsh followed closely by Luz began their long, straight, journey into Carentan. Adriana caught Luz's eye as he passed and winked. He nodded back and Adriana turned to get second platoon ready. A few seconds later shouts and shots rang out, making Easy company throw themselves into the shallow ditches along the side of the road.

Adriana's thoughts instantly went to Luz. He and Harry had been the first over the hill. She crawled up to the top of the hill and looked desperately for the radio antenna. She searched the dead bodies on the ground and finally her eyes moved on up to where she found Welsh and Luz, thankfully, taking cover behind a building. She let out a breath and turned back to find Winters.

He was in the middle of the road shouting at the men who were all taking cover in the ditch.

"Let's go Easy! Get up! Go! GO!"

Adriana had never seen Winters so angry. He was standing in the middle of the road, sacrificing his own safety, to get Easy company moving. Suddenly he ran past her up onto the road where the dead bodies were and where the machine gunners could see him perfectly. Adriana's mouth fell open as he dashed back and forth across the road, kicking the men in the ditches to get them up. While trying to hoist Blithe out of one of the ditches, he noticed her.

"ROOSEVELT! GET THEM MOVING!"

Adriana snapped out of her trance and jumped up pulling her men off the ground and pushing them off the road into the fields. Winters was still shouting and throwing men out of the ditch.

"Get moving! We have men out there!"

Adriana turned to help Winters but almost tripped over Liebgott, who had set up his machine gun in the tall grass of the field. Finally the men seemed to come out of their scared trances, and got back to what they were trained to do. Adriana turned and followed three men through the field and through a back gate. She and Shifty hit a wall next to a chicken coop at the same time a soldier got shot and another hit the wall across the street.

"Medic up!" she shouted, not really thinking a medic would hear her.

The soldier across from she and Shifty tossed a grenade toward the machine gunner in the window, but the grenade bounced off the window sill and landed closer to Luz and Welsh, who had to take cover when it exploded. Just as soon as he had thrown the grenade, the soldier was shot from somewhere behind Shifty and Adriana.

Adriana poked her head around the building and spotted him but there was no way she could hit him from that far away. She pulled her head back around the building and turned to the sharpshooter.

"Sniper! Balcony second floor left!" Adriana said to Shifty.

He easily put a bullet through the German's scull then turned his attention to the MG. He and Adriana fired simultaneously and hit one of the machine gunners. Almost immediately following the other MG turned his fire toward them.

"Aww Shit!" Shifty swore as he and Adriana pushed as far back as they could between the wall and chicken coop.

The fire lasted what felt like hours as the two held one another waiting for the bullet they were sure was coming. Little did they know, Luz and Harry were using the diversion they had created to take out the MG.

"We need some covering fire. Ready Luz?" Welsh asked as he signaled the men still on the road.

Luz stood up and fired as Harry darted out from behind him, a grenade in hand. He ran up on the German MGs left and tossed the grenade through, then dove for the wall under the window. The room exploded and the MG was silent.

"You ok Shifty?" Lipton yelled from across the town.

Shifty gave him thumbs up then looked down at his young Lt.

"Adri?" Are you a'right?"

She hadn't noticed she was latched onto the front of his field jacket. She leaned back and looked up at his dirty face. He was surprised to see she was crying.

"Are you hurt?" he asked suddenly worried.

"What? No, no I'm fine. I guess I'm only human right?" she scoffed dropping her gaze.

Shifty smiled and put his hand on her cheek. He lightly ran his thumb over her cheek taking the tears with it.

"We all are."

She tried to smile, but she wasn't sure it came out like a smile. Suddenly Lipton yelled for both of them. Adrian unlatched her hands from his jacket and jogged across the opening, coming to a stop behind Lipton.

"Hammer those windows," he said to Shifty.

As Shifty did, Adriana turned Lipton to her.

"I need to find the men from second Platoon. Are you alright here?"

"I'm fine. Go Lt."

Adriana nodded and dashed off. She dashed past men clearing houses until she literally ran into Tipper as they both came around a corner going in different directions. The jumpy private almost shot her but Liebgott jumped in.

"Jesus Tip. You almost shot the Lt!"

"Sorry ma'am," Tipper said helping her up.

"It's alright. Help me clear this house," she said.

Before they could get inside the house, however, it exploded. All three of them flew across the street and smashed into a brick wall. Liebgott hit the edge and took out a few bricks. They were all stunned and just laid there for a few minutes, trying to get their lungs to fully expand. Somewhere in her foggy consciousness, she heard Lip yelling for everyone to spread out.

"They've got us Zeroed! Spread out! Go! Get the hell out of there!"

Finally after a few seconds of blinking, Adriana could see again, and managed to stand with the help of the wall. She could see Lipton standing in the middle of the street yelling at men to move when suddenly the ground exploded in front of him.

"LIP!" she screamed.

As the smoke cleared she could see him lying against a wall. She was going to run to him, but she could see Talb already had him. She sighed, relieved then turned to Lieb and Tipper who were struggling to get up. She pulled Lieb to his feet first.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," he said dismissively.

He turned and helped Tipper up, then they went to the next house on the block. Tipper kicked down the door and went in first with Liebgott and Adriana close behind. Thinking the house wasn't as large as it was, Adriana and Liebgott went to the next house and cleared it. They thought Tipper would be right behind them, but when the store front exploded, sending fire and debris skyward, they both raced around looking for the young man.

"Tipper… Tip! Tipper! Answer me Tip!" Liebgott's voice was beginning to get desperate when they turned the corner of the building and found him. "Jesus."

"Joe? Is that you?" Tipper asked, on the brink of hysteria.

"Lookin' good Tip," Joe said in a soothing voice. "Your lookin' real good. Come here buddy you gotta sit down."

He gently took hold of Tipper's shoulders and lowered him to the ground then sat beside him. He put an arm around his shoulder and tenderly held him.

"Aww Jesus," Lieb whispered as he looked at Tipper's leg.

Tipper's breathing was labored as he clutched Liebgott's arm.

"You hang in there buddy. We're gonna get you fixed up alright?"

Tipper looked up at him, one blue eye visible under the blood caked face. It broke Adriana's heart to see a Taccoa man in so much pain. She knelt on the other side of him and touched his hand gently. He immediately latched onto it and looked at her.

"Sorry… Lt." he managed.

"Don't be Tip. You did a wonderful job. Just rest now alright? Doc Roe will have you fixed up in no time. I'm going to go get him," she told Liebgott.

He nodded but didn't take his eyes off his friend. Adriana stood and darted off to find Roe. She felt like a mad man running through the streets shouting for a medic.

"Roe! Doc Roe where you at!"

As she was yelling a bullet went through the top of her foot and she fell forward. Luckily she landed behind a pillar and was safe from the sniper that had missed her the first time.

"Shit," she gasped.

There was nothing she could do about it at that moment so she pulled herself up only to fall again when she tried to put weight on it.

"God where the hell is that Cajun?" she asked herself aloud as she tried to stand again.

Like an answer to prayer Roe came stumbling around a corner.

"Thank god Doc!"

He noticed her on the ground and thought she was fatally injured. When he raced to her side she pushed him away.

"I'm fine! You have to go help Tipper and Liebgott. They are back that way by the road to town. Tip is hurt bad."

Roe was hesitant to leave her.

"Do you want me to make that an order?" she yelled frustrated.

Roe shook his head and turned for the road into town. As he left, an MG could be heard firing overhead. She glanced up and saw Gordon in the window firing out onto the flooded field where the Germans were fleeing. None were getting away.

"Way to go Smokey!" she shouted up to him.

He glanced down at her and whooped, then returned to killing the retreating Krauts. She wasn't sure how she was going to make it to the aid station, and for the moment she felt like she was going to pass out so she just sat there, catching her breath and thinking.

She had made it through their first real mission, but how many others had. Lip had gotten hit and Tipper was going home for sure. That was the only ones she knew of, but there had to be more. Unfortunately that was war, and in war, no one ever won anything without some kind of sacrifice.

_**Ok guys! Read and Review!**_


	13. Hole in her Boot

_**Hey guys! sorry this chapter is pretty short. actually its really short and i'm REALLY sorry. I PROMISE the next one will be better. Love all my readers and reviewers! keep it up!**_

As Adriana sat there catching her breath she decided to pull her boot off. She realized halfway through that it was a bad choice, but there was no turning back. Finally, with one last scream of pain, her boot came off. She was breathing hard as she nursed her foot as best she could. It was bleeding freely as she tried to stem the flow with her camo bandana. She was so preoccupied, she didn't even hear Malarkey, Muck and Penkala come around the corner until they yelled her name.

"Hey Lt. you alright?" Muck asked jogging up to her.

"Got shot through the foot," she grunted.

"Would you like some help to the Doc?" Penkala asked squatting next to her.

His eyes were sparkling and a smile was slowly spreading across his face. Adriana shook her head and had to smile.

"I would love some help Penk," she said letting him put an arm around her back and hoist her up.

Malarkey got on her other side but she pushed him away.

"Go find someone else to help boys. I don't need three of you to help me walk."

Malarkey and Muck smiled at each other then left them. Penkala helped her out onto the street and away to find Roe.

"So how the hell did you get shot in the foot?" Penkala asked looking down at her.

"A sniper missed my head," she snarled.

"Jesus I didn't shoot you," he said defensively.

Adriana sighed and looked up at him.

"Sorry Alex. I guess getting shot in the foot kind of pisses me off."

"Remind me not to help you to the aid station next time," he said good-naturedly.

She laughed and took a tentative step on her hurt foot. It was a bad choice. She gripped Penkala's shoulder and let out a small moan. He glanced down at her then back at the trail of blood she was leaving. Without asking her permission, he reached down and picked her up.

"Alex Penkala put me down!" she shouted flailing.

"Nope. You would do the same for me. Or you would try," he said after thinking about what he had just said.

"Penkala! I _order_ you to put me down."

"Sorry Lt. You don't look fit to be giving orders. You might be talking crazy," Penkala said smiling.

"Alex Penkala if you don't-"

"Sorry Lt we are here!" he said seeing a few medics coming out of a building.

All Adriana's shouting had attracted the attention of anyone walking by. They had even passed Winters who had smiled but let it happen. Penkala carried her through the door only to receive a hoot from Perconte, who was leaving.

"Carrying your bride over the threshold there Penk?"

"Shut your trap Perconte," Adriana barked. "And Penkala put me the fuck down."

Penkala finally obliged and once her foot was on the ground she smacked him then smiled.

"Thanks," she said winking at him. "And if you ever do it again I will knock you on your ass."

Penkala laughed and followed Perconte out of the room. Adriana hobbled into the next room where she heard the unmistakable Cajun accent talking to injured people. She used the door frame to hop in to where Roe could see her. As soon as he did he left the person he was talking to in the care of another medic and came to her side.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Got shot in the foot," she said simply.

Roe immediately helped her over to a table and she jumped up. He propped her foot up on his thigh and began the process of cleaning it. He poured sulfate powder in the top and held a bandage on the bottom so it wouldn't come out. He packed it with powder then wrapped it up.

"Stay off it for awhile yeah?" he asked.

"I'm a second Lt. Roe. I can't just sit around and do nothing," Adriana protested.

"You want me to tell Luz?" he asked.

Adriana sighed and shook her head. She pulled her boot on and stood.

"That ain't staying off of it," Roe said crossing his arms.

"I'm going somewhere where I can rest. I promise Doc," Adriana assured him.

He gave her the 'you better be look' then went back to other men. As she was leaving, Winters was hobbling in.

"Sir are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes Lt. I'm fine. What about you?"

"I got shot in the foot sir. Well through the foot actually. Made a nice hold in my boot, but Doc fixed me up," she said showing him the small hole where the white bandage could be seen.

"I caught a ricochet in the ankle," he explained.

"Do you want some help sir?" she asked.

"No, no, Lt. Go get some rest. That's and order," he added with a smile.

"Yes sir," she responded with a smile.

She left the building, limping a little bit but it was better wrapped up. She leaned against the building to gain her bearings and saw Liebgott pass. She half limped, half jogged after him.

"Hey Lieb!"

He turned and waited for her to catch up. His face was dark and there was dried blood on the right of his uniform and face. She almost didn't ask about Tipper, but her curiosity for the well being of her friend outweighed anything else.

"How is Tip?"

"He's going home," Lieb answered. "He will never walk again, and may never see again. Damn Krauts."

"Sorry Lieb. Did he go to the aid station yet?"

Liebgott didn't answer but stopped walking. Adriana stopped and turned to him. His entire body was shaking.

"Lieb?"

He didn't move. She took in his appearance carefully and calculating. The skin over his jaw was taught and his bottom lip was quivering. Both fists were clenched at his sides and his breathing was shallow. Adriana watched him for half a second longer then gently covered his hand with both of hers. He looked down at her, his brown eyes filled with uncharacteristic emotion. Suddenly his legs seemed to give out and Adriana did her best to catch him.

In the end they both ended up on the ground, in the middle of the street. Liebgott's body was wracked with sobs, but he wasn't letting any emotion out. There were no tears when Adriana pulled away from him and looked at his face. She put both hands on his cheeks and searched his eyes.

"You can cry Lieb. We are all going to miss him."

He looked into her face for another second before his eyes fluttered closed. Then the tears came. Adriana held his body against hers as the sobs were making him shake violently. She did her best to hold him tight and let him know it was ok. She whispered in his ear as she held his face against her chest.

"You're ok Lieb. Tip is going home and he is alive. That is the only thing that matters. He is alive. He is alive Lieb."

She felt him nod against her. After a few minutes, Adriana saw Luz walk up across the road. She shook her head at him and he stopped. He leaned one shoulder against the wall in the shadow of the building and waited.

Ten minutes and a very wet sleeve later, Liebgott lifted his head.

"Sorry," he said noticing the wet spot.

Adriana smiled gently.

"I'm proud of you Lieb. Showing so much emotion is not easy. Especially for a Toccoa man."

Lieb blushed slightly but smiled. He stood and helped her to her feet.

"Thanks Rosie," he said pinching her cheek gently.

She nodded then he turned and strutted off. Adriana turned to where Luz was still waiting. She turned and limped toward him. His face immediately changed.  
"What happened?" he asked jogging to her side.

"I'm fine. Just got shot through the foot is all."

"You're sure you're alright?" he asked, a shadow of worry still on his handsome face.

"I'm fine. Doc just says I have to find a place to rest before we move out."

"Well lets go find a place to rest," Luz said sticking his arm out.

Adriana shook her head but looped her arm through his and let him lead her away.

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	14. The Hedgerow

_**Hey guys! Here is the next chapter! hope you like it! as always thanks to my wonderful readers and expecially my reviewers! love you all!**_

_**as always i own nothing but Adriana Roosevelt.**_

As George and Adriana walked they saw some Easy company men sitting in the town square. George turned them that way. They were wearily greeted by Muck, Penkala, Malarkey and Moor. Luz sat heavily next to Penkala who smiled at Adriana.

"How's that foot Rosie?" he asked mischievously.

"Its fine Alex," she hissed, but she was smiling too.

"So as I was sayin'," Moor said. "Berlin by Christmas. That's how I see it"

"You're full of it," Malarkey said while Muck complained about the Kraut cheese.

"Yes sir, the way we came in town today. You know it doesn't seem like Jerry's got too much fight left in em'" Moor continued.

"Hey Moor, don't get hit in the face when Jerry throws in the sponge alright?" Malarkey said smiling.

"Mark my words Mal. Berlin by Christmas."

Malarkey shook his head and turned to Adriana but his face turned stony. He looked rather frightened and Adriana followed his gaze over her shoulder. Spiers was standing right behind her.

"Enjoy it while it lasts," he said. "We'll be moving out soon."

"Out of town sir? Already?" Moor asked, disappointment easy to hear in his voice.

"That's right," Spiers answered.

Adriana glanced at the red headed soldier behind her. He looked disgusted with the Dog Company Cpt. After a second he looked down at her.  
"You keeping up ok Lt?" he asked.

"Excuse me sir?" Adriana asked.

"You keeping up with the men?" he asked just as bluntly before.

"I don't follow sir," she said looking at Luz for help.

"I just want to make sure you are doing alright with the men."

Adriana stood up.

"Sir, can I speak to you. In private?"

Normally if someone went to talk in private with Adriana, the men would hoot and cat call, but they all knew better than to do that. Spiers looked around at them, daring them to say anything. When they didn't, he strode over away expecting Adriana to follow. She did and they came to a bench a young private was sitting on. With one look from Spiers, the young man scurried away.

"Have a seat Lt."

"I would rather stand sir," she said stiffly.

Spiers looked rather taken aback for only a second but didn't say anything about it.

"What do you need?" he asked.

"Sir I realize you don't know me very well which is why I don't let you have it like I would any Easy company man, but I am a 2nd Lt in the United States Army. I made it through Camp Toccoa with flying colors. I went through jump training and completed all five training jumps. I got my jump wings with the rest of the company, and out did hundreds of men who were a hundred times more qualified than me. I jumped into Normandy on D-day, lived, re-grouped with Easy then took on the guns at Brecourt and now have successfully taken Carentan all while not only being an enlisted woman but leading enlisted men. Lt. Speirs, I have done everything to the best of my ability, and as far as I can tell, I have succeeded, so sir, unless you can tell me something that I have done wrong, please doesn't presume to know me or what I can do."

Adriana's voice was quiet and deadly, yet level and calm the whole time she was speaking. Spiers' face never changed as he listened to her.

"Dismissed Lt." he said and turned on his heel and stalked away.

Adriana had the intense urge to punch him in the back of the head, but refrained and instead sighed and went back to her men.

"What happened?" asked Malarkey sitting up straighter.

"Nothing. He is just a sexist pig is all," she answered.

"Why?" Luz asked.

Adriana didn't have time to answer because Welsh was coming into view around a corner yelling for 1st platoon.

"Let's go! First platoon weapons on me! We are moving out."

The men grabbed their belongings and Adriana went to get second platoon. Luz followed her.

"Second platoon on me! We are moving out!"

The men of second platoon scurried to fall in as Luz pulled her to a stop.

"Hey tell me what Spiers said," he pushed.

"No Luz don't worry about it," Adriana said pushing him off her arm. "Get back with first platoon."

"Aww come on Bell!" Luz whined making Adriana smile.

"If we live through the next battle, maybe I'll tell you," she lied.

That seemed to satisfy him and with a kiss on the cheek, he darted back to Welsh. Warmth was spreading through her face from the place his lips had touched. She laughed out loud, causing Guarnere, who had just joined her, to give her a strange look. She glanced over and was overjoyed to see him.

"Bill!" she said happily throwing her arms around him.

He caught her and after swinging her around he set her down then looked at her.

"How are yah Rosie girl?" he asked gently patting her head.

"Never better Bill," she said. "Although my foot hurts a bit. Caught a bullet."

"In your foot?" Guarnere asked amused.

She nodded sheepishly and Guarnere laughed.

"Well at least he missed your big head," he said ruffling her hair.

She playfully pushed his shoulder but he didn't go anywhere.

"So how did yah fare in the taking of Carentan?" he asked.

"It was fine. I was with Shifty when he took that sniper, then I was clearing houses with Liebgott and Tipper when Tip got hurt. His leg almost got blown off, and he caught some shrapnel in his chest and face."

"I heard," Guarnere said sadly dropping his head.

"But he is alive. He is going home," Adriana said in a brighter tone.

"Lucky bastard," Guarnere said with a sad smile.

After a few moments of silence Adriana turned to him.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine Rosie. Why?" he asked.

"Remember how I said you and I were going to talk about your brother. Well I haven't forgotten."

Guarnere sighed and slid an arm around her waist.

"Rosie, my brother is old news. He is gone. I'm not and neither are you or the other guys."

"Don't do that Bill Guarnere. Don't you dare. Not to me. Don't hold all your emotions inside. It will eat you up, and I need you whole. Please talk to me."

Guarnere pulled his face back so he could look down at her. Her large eyes were pleading. He shook his head defeated.

"Alright Rosie you win. I miss him alright. Henry and I were… the closest out of my family. We were best friends. Always doin' everything together. I miss him. That's it."

"I'm sorry Bill," Adriana said putting a hand on his chest.

"It's alright. I'm alright," Bill answered covering her hand with his.

Adriana was about to say something else when Welsh called for her up front. She waved at Welsh then turned back to Bill.

"Go on," he said nodding toward Welsh. "Lt. duties call."

Adriana squeezed his hand and jogged forward to Welsh.

"What's up Lt.?" she asked.

"I need to go up and talk to the Lt. from Fox Company. Can you hold down first and second platoon?"

"Yes sir," Adriana answered.

Welsh nodded and jogged off. Adriana looked back over her shoulder and marveled at the amount of Easy men trudging over the spongy grass. Officers were shouting orders and some men were talking among themselves. There was no smoking because the men had both their hands on their weapons, and eyes scanning the distance. As they walked, thunder could be heard above just before a torrent of rain burst forth and spilled down on Easy. Adriana cringed as the water pelted her face stinging her cheeks.

She was only a few paces in front of Easy so she could easily hear Luz, Perconte and Hoob bantering. She slowed so she was between Luz and Perconte so she could join the conversation. Luz was in the middle of answering Perconte.

"Aww Jesus Frank, I don't know. Until they tell us to stop."

"High ground," Hoob said. "There is high ground up ahead."

"Ok genius, answer me this then," Perconte said as Luz smiled widely. "Why is Easy company the only company who is either at the front of an advance, or, like now, exposed at the far edge of the line?"

"To keep you on your toes," Hoob said, obviously bored.

Adriana smiled at Perconte's not-so-good-natured complaining.

"No, that's not what I'm sayin'. I'm sayin' that we're never in the middle, and we are the fifth of nine companies in this regiment. Able to Item," Perconte said looking back and forth between Hoob and Adriana. "Think of it."

Hoob started to say something and point to the high ground, but was interrupted by the sound of an MG. Everyone dropped to their stomachs and tried to find better cover. Welsh could be heard shouting, "Contact right! Get into that hedgerow!"

"Let's go, let's go! Into the hedgerow!" Adriana hollered relaying the order to men down the line.

She jumped up and began to run pulling men along with her. There was always a trade off to jumping up and running rather than army crawling. The latter was safer, but very slow. Getting up and running when there was a machine gun in an unknown location was much faster. In this situation, it was probably better to crawl, but Adriana had men she had to get out of the open. She was up running around pushing men forward, shouting all the while. As she dashed through the bushes, a man next to her got shot in the chest and fell. Not even thinking she grabbed him by the vest and drug him with her into the hedgerow.

After what seemed like an eternity she made it to cover. Men were yelling and bullets were flying around her. She dropped the wounded soldier and shouted for a medic three times and was afraid Roe might be wounded himself when he appeared out of nowhere. She already had his field jacket and shirt off and Roe was ready with sulfate powder. They worked together, easily filling in for the other without having to be told. When he was stable Roe told her she could go. She dashed off to find her to men.

She hit the ground as soon as she started running because Blithe was sprawled out covering his face and whimpering. She crawled to his side and smacked him in the back of the head.

"Get up Blithe!" she roared. "Fire your weapon!"

When he didn't respond she crawled up next Johnny Martin. There she stayed, firing across the grassy field into the next hedgerow where the Germans were hiding. They were there until the sun went down and the Germans stopped firing. Adriana slid down against the hill they were firing over and let out a slow breath. Johnny slid down next to her and patted her shoulder.

"You alright Rosie?" he asked.

"I'm just fine Johnny," she answered sighing.

Just as she answered him, the sky opened up and freezing rain poured down on them again. The wind picked up and whipped through the hedgerow, blowing the rain at an angle right into their faces.

"Damn," Johnny said quietly. "I guess we should start digging."

Adriana sighed and took out her entrenching tool and got to work. An hour and a half later Adriana and Martin had dug themselves into a hole Adriana knew she would never be able to get out of on her own, especially since the rain was making the sides muddy. She looked up at Martin who looked exhausted, but happy. She had to smile at his black face.

"What?" he asked.

Even under the mud, Adriana could tell he was confused.

"You're a little dirty," she said.

"Yeah well I'm not the only one," he retorted with a grin.

He reached out and wiped off her cheek. He pulled his hand away and showed her the mud caked there. Adriana shrugged and looked up out of the hole just as thunder crashed. Between the thunder, the Germans could be heard singing.

"What the hell do they have to sing about?" Martin grumbled sitting down.

Adriana didn't have time to answer. Someone was coming through the bushes behind them. They both raised their rifles and Martin yelled, "Flash."

Welsh rolled through the bushes and landed right next to the hole.

"Thunder," he said with a smile. "Catchy tune, ain't it?"

"Hey Lt. What's the news?" Martin asked relaxing and sliding down into the hole.

"Ehh same as it was this afternoon," Welsh said glancing out at the German side. "They're in their hedgerow and we're in ours." Then he turned his attention to Adriana. "Winters is looking for you Lt."

"Right now sir?" she asked.

"Better get going," Welsh nodded.

Adriana sighed. She wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep next to Martin, but Winters was the boss so she got up, and after a few tries and a boost from Martin she hauled herself out of the hole. She grabbed her M-1 from Martin and turned to find their CO.

_**Time to REVIEW NOW!**_


	15. Feelings Realized

_**Alright guys here is another chapter! First off I have to address a review I got. Someone who named themselves 'confused' asked if I was writing under two names because apparently I have a very similar story to another story. I'm not writing under two names, and Adriana Roosevelt is MY oc. I got the nickname Rosie from another story, but the author is fine with it. Ask her yourself if you want. Its heartbeats77, who by the way is one of my favorite reviewers!**_

_**Anyway, I love you all. **__Heartbeats77, the everchanging, liliesshadow__**, and **__FireIsLove__**. Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews!**_

Adriana was cold, wet, tired and just all around miserable. The rain was coming in harder torrents now. Her field jacket was now soaked and she was beginning to feel the cold on her skin.

"Shit," she swore pulling her jacket closer around her neck.

"Lt. Roosevelt," Winters' cool voice came through the trees.

Adriana spun around and in doing so, slipped and fell forward. Hands came out of the darkness and grabbed her shoulders. Winters steadied her on her feet then found her eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his blue eyes smiling.

"Yes sir, sorry sir," she said flustered.

"It's alright," he said still holding onto her upper shoulders.

She stood straighter and took her hands off his arms and he released her shoulders.  
"So you wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes," he answered. "S2 says the Germans only left a company to defend Carentan. The rest pulled out sometime last night."

"Damn. I knew that town was too easy," Adriana said sighing.

"They regrouped south of town," Winters said as they started walking. "They may have been on their way to a counter attack when we encountered them here. Their strength is unknown."

Adriana looked up at Winters who was looking out at the German hedgerow.

"They want the town back and we are in their way. If they don't come before, we are attacking at first light. 0530."

Adriana let out a growl and said, "I'll tell my men to fix bayonets."

She looked down as they continued to walk then she smiled.

"Not much of a limp," she said smiling up at him.

"You either," Winters said stopping and looking at her.

"How is your leg sir?" she asked.

"It hurts," he said. "You?"

"I'm fine. You either ignore the pain and get out of the battle safely, or slow down because of the pain and die. I will always choose the first."

Winters nodded and smiled.

"I hope you would. Get some sleep Lt."

"You should take your own advice sir," Adriana said smiling.

"Don't trip over anything on your way back to your foxhole," Winters said nonchalantly with a grin on his face.

"Yes sir," Adriana said and with a shake of his head, Winters was gone.

Adriana laughed to herself and began her cold journey back to hers and Martin's hole. When she got there however, Martin was asleep and Blithe was in her spot. She sighed not wanting to get into a conversation with the war torn soldier and trudged off to find an open hole. As she passed a sleeping Muck, Penkala and Malrkey, she thought about throwing herself in on top of them, but continued walking.

The Germans were still singing as the rain continued to pour, and Adriana continued to get soaked. The wind was blowing harder and there was not much shelter for her. Even the thick trees in the hedgerow weren't stopping the wind and rain. She saw Talbert on his watch and decided to see how he was doing.

"Thunder," she said just to let him know she was there.

"Flash," he answered and turned to her. "Hiya Rosie. Jesus you look cold."

He held his new German pancho open to her. She smiled and slid in next to him. She immediately soaked up his dry warmth and was awakened. She hugged Talb's waist and said, "Thanks Talb."

"Not a problem. This damn rain is going to kill us."

"Better rain than the Krauts right?" Adriana asked looking up at him.

"Yeah I guess," he said. "So do you know what we are doing?" he asked.

Adriana sighed.

"We attack at 0530," she said. "If they don't attack first."

"Well shit," Talb cursed. "I better get myself some sleep. Want me to walk you to your foxhole?"

"Naw thanks Talb. I have to go check the positions before morning anyway. Thanks for the warmth."

"No problem. Night Rosie."

"Night Talb."

Adriana darted out from under the warm pancho and almost at once she found a foxhole. It was being shared by Perconte and Luz who were talking quietly and trying to smoke.

"Heya boys," Adriana greeted them.

She knelt at the edge of the hole and looked in on them.

"Hey Bell!" Luz said smiling up at her. "You look cold. Care to share a foxhole?"

"God yes," she said happily and jumped in with them.

Perconte slid under her and pushed her to the middle so she would be warmer. She snuggled down between them and pulled them toward her. Luz spread a blanket across them and Perconte did the same with his army green.

"It's much warmer down here," she said as a particularly large gust of wind howled across the top of the hole.

"Well of course! Perco and I are down here!" Luz said throwing his arm around her then immediately pushing her away. "Jesus Bell you're soaked!"

"Yeah I've been walking around for awhile," she said, her teeth now chattering.

"Well get that shit off," Perconte said leaning away from her.

Adriana gladly rid herself of the soaked field jacket and button down green shirt. That left her in her white crew neck. It was only slightly damp and that would soon be fixed by Luz and Perconte's warmth, but she was still shivering slightly.

"So how the hell are you Rosie?" Perconte asked offering her a cigarette.

"Tired," she mumbled.

Perconte looked down at her and realized her eyes were closed and her head was leaning against the dirt wall. Perconte nudged Luz who was trying to light his cigarette but having no luck. He glanced up and a smile worked its way across his face. Perconte laughed and Luz leaned forward, stripping down to his white t-shirt as well and pulling Adriana against him.

He enjoyed the feeling of her pressed against him more than he would ever let on to anyone. Little did he know, all the men enjoyed the feeling of Adriana in their arms, but not for the same reason Luz did. Most of the men thought of Adriana as their little sister, but it was still nice to have someone in their arms. Something warm and alive, especially since there wasn't much alive in this war. Luz wasn't thinking about the war, or all the deaths and injuries in only the few days they had been there. He was thinking about the young woman who he knew he loved from the very first second he met her at Taccoa. Now, as he sat in a foxhole in the rain with his best friend and the woman he wanted to be with forever, everything didn't look so glum after all. She mumbled something against his side he didn't understand but gently put a strand of auburn hair behind her ear and shushed her.

"Go to sleep," he coaxed. "You're going to need it."

She softly uttered something that sounded like 'you're right' then nodded off peacefully. Perconte threw Luz's blanket over them both and scooted in close on the other side of Adriana.

"You're one luck y son of a bitch you know that?" Perconte said grinning.

Luz cocked his head and gave his friend a questioning look. Perconte shook his head and laughed.

"She likes you, you idiot."

"So I'm not the only one who thinks so?" he asked smiling like he already knew.

"No," Perconte confirmed. "Any man would be stupid not to like her. She is like our little ray of sunshine in this war. Although, it may take some coaxing and sweet talking to get her to admit it to herself."

"What do you mean?" Luz asked looking down at Adriana's sleeping form.

"She is a US Army Lt. There is probably a rule somewhere that won't let her get involved with her men," Perconte said following Luz's gaze to her.

"Come on Perco. This has never happened before. There has never been a need for a rule like that," Luz countered.

"Well then I'm sure it's a rule in her own personal rule book," Perconte said sticking to his point. "Either way, it can't be a good idea to get involved with her. I mean what if she dies? What will happen to-"

"Why would you even say something like that?" Luz asked anger flashing through his dark eyes.

"What would happen to you?" Perconte said, finishing his sentence. "How would you go on?"

"It… it would be just like losing any other man," Luz faltered.

"You and I both know that is not true," Perconte scoffed, then he looked down at their little Lt who was barley twenty. "She is more than that to all of us."

Luz was lost for words, and eventually he admitted defeat.

"I can't help how I feel about her Perco."

"I know. I'm not saying you shouldn't love her. Lover her with all you have, but know, she is just as apt to die as the rest of us, and if you live and she dies, you have to be able to go on. Without her. Just like if any other man died."

Luz searched Perconte's face and he was completely serious. He raised his eyebrows at his friend just as a scream echoed through the trees. It came again a few seconds later. The next one woke Adriana.

"What happened?" she asked still groggy from sleep.

"That came from our side," Luz said pulling his arm slightly tighter around Adriana.

"I'll go check it out," Perconte said jumping out of the hole before either of his comrades could say otherwise.

"How long was I asleep for?" Adriana asked rubbing her eyes.

"Ten minutes," Luz said releasing his tight grip on her upper arm.

At that moment she observed where she was. Her head was in the crook of Luz's neck and her hand was pressed against his chest that was bare of anything but his white t-shirt. When she looked up and realized how close their faces were, she sat up immediately. He looked at her confused. She cleared her throat and rubbed her eyes again.

"Well it was a nice nap," she said with a fake grin.

Luz suddenly felt very awkward and retracted his arm from around her shoulders. She leaned back against the dirt a little ways from him and sighed. There was an awkward silence that lasted a few seconds until Adriana looked at him.

"I never got a chance to ask how your jump was," she said.

"Nothin' out of the ordinary," he said not wanting to re-live the events with the French woman.

"Come on," she prodded scooting closer to him. "You know what happened to me and Talb."

He looked down at her face. Her eyes were full of anticipation so he sighed and cot more comfortable in his hole.

"I landed near a house, and a French woman, Lenore, hid me from the Germans. There was an 88 somewhere around and I wouldn't have gotten very far without her help. Then the Germans showed up at her door and they were yelling to let them in so Lenore hid me under her house. That's where I found Perconte. He and I waited there for the Germans to leave but-"

He stopped and took a breath.

"They didn't leave. They got rough with Lenore and started throwing things. Then I… I-I left. Perconte and I just crawled away into the woods."

Luz had tears in his eyes now. Adriana put her hand on his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. He didn't immediately start to cry, but eventually he clutched her shirt and quietly sobbed.

"I mean how could we just leave her?" he asked looking up at her face.

"You couldn't have helped her. There were probably too many Germans for you and Perco to take care of."

"That shouldn't be an excuse," he hissed. "We are the fucking United States Army! We shouldn't have just left!"

"Shhh Luz. Is alright," Adriana said into his hair.

After a moment together, Luz pulled away from her and wiped his eyes.

"Sorry," he said embarrassed.

Adriana just laughed and burrowed her way under his warm arm once again. She couldn't believe what she was doing. Luz was a wonderful man, but a friend not a lover. She couldn't let Luz think of her as anything other than a friend. He mind had completely changed since that run up Curahee. All these men were now off limits just because so many were getting hurt or becoming the first casualties. She didn't know if her heart could take it to lose Luz. 'I can't do this with him,' she said to herself. 'I can't get involved. It would just end in us both getting hurt,' but as she thought this, Luz began to trace a figure eight on her arm with one long finger. She melted then reminded herself sternly that she couldn't. Regretting each movement she sat up and began to pull her wet uniform back on. She avoided the dark, puppy eyes she knew were watching ever move she made; filled with hurt and sadness.

"I've got to go check on everyone else," she said finally meeting those eyes.

She forced her lips into a smile and put a hand on his shoulder, then pulled herself out of the warm hole and back above ground.

"Get some sleep radioman," she said not bothering to look back in the hole.

Luz watched her go forlornly. He knew she didn't have to check on anyone. She was going to find an empty foxhole, or god forbid a foxhole with Shifty in it. The exchanges between the two had not gone unnoticed by Luz, but it didn't look like she was getting the subtle hints the sharpshooter was leaving. Something Luz was glad of, but he wasn't going to lose her that easy. Perconte had been right. She just needed a little convincing that it was ok to love him as much as he loved her.

_**Ok guys! Review!**_


	16. Easy is Safe

_**Ok so this chapter kind of took on a life of its own. Honestly, I didn't really even know what I was writing. It was just happening, so I let it. Hope you guys like it! As always, I only own Adriana Roosevlet, and thank you to all my wonderful readers and reviewers; **_Heartbeats77, liliesshadow, _**and**_ the everchanging.

After she left Luz, Adriana had found refuge in a half finished foxhole and was only able to sleep for a few hours before she got up and went to check the line. It was just after dawn and most of the men were awake. She still felt bad about the way she left things with Luz. He looked so sad when she left, but he was a military man. Nothing should affect him, least of all her leaving his fox hole. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go back and see him or just find her other men. She eventually decided on the latter.

It had stopped raining as she walked, but the wind was still blowing an icy breeze. The trees were shaking just as much as Adriana was as she dug her hands further into her pockets. She went to the far line where Fox and Dog company were doing the same thing Easy was. They were all in their fox holes, smoking, eating and talking quietly. As she walked by they would look up, confusion written on their faces. She kept her eyes up and face stern. Any sign of weakness, she was afraid these men would attack. Suddenly someone shouted her name and she turned. It was Doc Roe. He jogged up to her getting strange looks from the Dog company men.

"Lt. we should get back to Easy," he said, his dark eyes flashing to all the faces around them.

"What's a matter Doc?" she asked smiling. "These boys won't hurt me."

"Come on Lt," he said quietly ushering her back toward Easy.

Adriana protested, but she didn't know the information Roe knew.

"Adriana please," he said urgently.

She finally sensed the fear in his voice and began to go easily with him when someone stood in their path. He was tall and Adriana didn't recognize him. She glanced around them and he seemed to have a following of ten or so men.

"Well well, aren't you pretty?" he said smoothly lifting a hand to her face.

Adriana felt her heart begin to beat wildly in her chest but she kept her face blank. Roe had his hand around her upper arm and she felt it tighten noticeably. Adriana reacted when the man touched her face by jerking her head back and saying, "Don't touch me, Private."

"Oh I'll touch your Private," he said laughing.

He friends joined in laughing and began to close in around Roe and Adriana.

"If y'all knew what was good for you, you'd back off," Roe said standing straighter at her side. "This here is Adriana Roosevelt. Yah know, da' daughter of da' President."

The man chuckled and grabbed Adriana's arm and pulled her face toward him. Someone grabbed Roe from behind and the man infront of Adriana stuck his nose against her face and inhaled.

"Mmm," he cooed. "Even under the smell of dirt and death, you are most defiantly a woman."

"Let me the FUCK go," she said, her voice deadly.

"Make me," he said placing his lips on her cheek.

Before the words were even all the way out of his mouth, Adriana pulled her knee up into his groin. He yelped and let her go then she brought her knee to meet his nose. She pushed him over and swung around to meet another man's cheek with her fist. Roe yanked his arms free and elbowed his captor in the nose, effectively breaking it. He found Adriana's back and held his fists up waiting for the next blow. Adriana sensed him behind her and shifted left to protect his back more efficiantly. A man came at each of them at the same time, and Adriana laid him out with a kick to the chest to stop his advance then a fist to the jaw. Another man caught her in the face with his elbow, splitting her lip, but only succeeding to piss her off. Roe was not letting any of them get close to him. He broke one's knee with one kick and someone else's elbow with a jab. Suddenly the first man had his arm around Adriana's neck and he had knocked Roe off his feet. The first man pulled Adriana up off her feet. As lights popped before Adriana's eyes, she scratched at his arms, drawing blood, but nothing more. Suddenly, just as the lights were going out, the arms were gone, replaced by soft, careful hands and a gentle Cajun voice.

"Adriana? Ah' you a'right?"

She coughed as a response. It had been a little under a week and she had been choked twice. She sat up and opened her eyes. To her surprise, Speirs was standing over the man who had previously been holding Adriana and Roe hostage. There was a gash on his head that Adriana presumed had been made by the butt of Speirs' side arm that he was now brandishing.

"You're lucky I don't just shoot you on the spot," he was saying. "I trained Dog Company to be more than savage animals. You all know better!"

All the men in earshot shrank at his voice. Speirs pointed the gun at the man's head and knelt down to eye level.

"Do you know who you just assaulted?" Speirs asked the terrified Private.

"N-n-no," he said, his voice quivering.

"Address me as SIR!" he shouted.

"NO SIR!" the kid said back.

"That, private Rogers, is a lie. I heard her tell you she was a Lt in the United States Army. I also heard her tell you she was the President's daughter. Did you know she is an American?" Speirs asked, his voice lethal.

"Sir?" the kid asked confused.

"You CANT have know she was an American because, Private Rogers, aren't you an American?"

"Y-y-yes sir," he said leaning away from Speirs.

"Then, private Rogers, why would you try to attack anyone, especially an AMERICAN WOMAN who has a higher rank than you?"

"I-I-"

"Go ahead Rogers, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" he yelled.

"Sir I didn't- I mean I- sir I-"

"Get him out of my sight," Speirs said, pushing the man and standing up. "Now everyone! You WILL let Lt. Roosevelt and Cpl. Roe go back to their Company. Get back to whatever you were doing unless you want the same treatment as Rogers. If anyone even looks at her wrong, you will be dishonorably discharged."

With wide stares at their Captain all the men got back to their foxholes. Speirs watched them go for a few seconds then knelt next to Adriana.

"Are you alright Lt?" he asked putting a hand gently under her chin to wipe away the blood.

"I will be sir. It was stupid of me to come here. I just wanted to make sure everyone had what they needed."

Speirs eyes flashed but his voice was calm.

"You had no reason to be fear coming here. Just know that not all my men are like that. Now, why don't you just let me worry about Dog Company from now on. God knows you have your hands full with Easy."

She thought she could see the shadow of a smile on his hard face, but she couldn't be sure.

"Yes sir," she said as Roe helped her stand.

"Get back to Easy and when you find Winters, please tell him I would like to speak to him," Speirs said.

Adriana nodded and went with Roe back to Easy. Adriana was ashamed and guilty for what had just happened. First of all she couldn't believe any American man could be such a pig, and it was rather disheartening. Second, she felt stupid and childish for venturing away from the men she knew wouldn't hurt her. Roe seemed to know what she was thinking.

"It wasn't your fault you know," he said looking sideways at her.

She looked up into his face, her eyes weary.

"Yes it was. I don't even know why I went over there. Boredom I guess."

"It's understandable," Roe said.

"Not it's not!" she said stopping.

Only then did she realize his hand was still around her arm. He dragged her further into Easy's line before he let them stop and he looked into her face.

"I'm a damn Lt. I should never be bored! I should always have something to do! If I'm bored, I'm not doing my job! I'm letting people down!"

Tears were forming in her amber eyes and Roe almost couldn't stand it. He put both hands softly on her shoulders.

"Listen ta' me. You ah' one of da' best Lts Easy has ever had. We would all be lost without yah'. Da' men may not say it all da' time, but we all think it. We need ya'."

Adriana's brows furrowed. She had never been needed by anyone. Not her family or friends. Now, of all people, these men, the strongest men she had ever met needed her? It couldn't be, but it was a rare occurrence that Roe was wrong about anything. Finally she let it sink in and smiled at Roe.

"Thanks Doc," she said wrapping her arms around his waist.

He sighed and let her stay there for a moment. The morning before, he had been talking to a medic from Dog and he had told Roe that some of the men had found out about a woman in Easy and they made it their vow to 'get her.' That was the only thing the other medic would say, but Roe had a pretty good idea what that meant. As soon as there was no one else for him to help, he had gone straight to Speirs and told him. On his way back to Easy, he had spotted Adriana in Dog's territory. He had been so worried and now she was safe in his arms. He sighed again then pushed her shoulders back.

"Welsh is briefing da' men on da' attack this afternoon. Yah' should go check in with him."

Adriana nodded and said, "I have to talk to Winters."

"I'll do it," Roe volunteered.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah. Yah go get ready fo' the attack."

"Thanks Roe," she said. "For everything."

He nodded and she darted off. He turned slowly and went to find Winters. He walked slowly letting the adrenalin run out of his system so he could be less jittery before he talked to Winters.

Before Adriana got far, Pat Christenson stopped her.

"What happened to your face Rosie?" he asked.

'Shit,' Adriana thought to herself. She had forgotten to wipe the blood away from her split lip.

"Just ran into a tree Pat. I'm fine," she said and hurried past him before he could inquire further.

The next few men she encountered were not as easy to get past however, Shifty turned out to be the hardest.

"Adri wait," he said holding onto her arm.

The way he was looking at her, Adriana knew she would never be able to get away, so she sighed and turned back to him.

"I got in a little scuffle alright? But I'm fine," she said dismissively.

"They hell you are," Shifty exclaimed capturing her face between his palms.

She sighed and let him examine her lip and a black eye that was forming. He ran a finger over her lip, wiping the blood. She winced but didn't pull away.

"Sorry," he murmured as he wiped the last of the blood away. "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah," she confessed. "But I'll be fine. Listen I forgot about this."

He looked down as she pushed something into his palm. He opened his hand and saw his ring.

"It helped me jump," she said looking up at him and smiling.

"I'm glad," he said still looking at the small circle.

"I have to go find Welsh. Be careful today Shift," she said.

He nodded and she turned to leave, then turned back.

"Hey Shifty?"

He looked up and met her eyes.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Shifty asked confused.

"Not asking how it happened."

She smiled and went to find Welsh. She didn't meet anyone else on the way and finally saw Welsh surrounded by some men. She dropped down between Perconte and Guarnere. They all stared at her for a second before Welsh asked, "Roosevelt. What happened to you?"

"Ran into a tree sir," she said noticing Pat standing behind Perconte.

"A tree split your lip and gave you a black eye?" Martin asked.

"Must have been one hell of a tree," Perconte said when she nodded.

"Roosevelt why aren't you with 2nd platoon?" Welsh asked.

"Buck took over 2nd platoon last night. Winters wants me to go back and forth between platoons," she answered.

"Alright well listen up then," Welsh said. "Now we don't know what they've got. We may be attacking a weaker force. Possibly more paratroopers."

"And we know how they can be," Hoob said with a smile.

That comment earned him a chuckle from the men around.

"Fire and maneuver. That's the name of the game. Fire and maneuver. Dog and Fox will be on our left moving with us. Any questions?" he asked.

Adriana shivered at the mention of Dog Company but shook her head along with the rest of the men.

"Let's make em' holler," Welsh said folding up the map.

Adriana stood just as Perconte said something about what time it was back home. He was cut off by Guarnere calling the warning, "Mortars!"

Everyone dove in foxholes taking cover. Bill drug her to the ground with him, and covered her from a falling tree. She rolled them both over into a ditch and she landed on top of him. He struggled to right himself as Welsh called out orders. Adriana rolled off him and gave him a hand up.

"Thanks Rosie," Guarnere said. "Be careful."

"You too Bill!" she shouted as he took off.

She darted back to Welsh who was on the radio. Adriana jumped in the hole and helped Luz pull a wounded man into their hole.

"Medic!" Luz shouted. "We need a medic up!"

Luz glanced at Adriana and he furrowed his brow.

"What happened to your face Bell?"

"Luz, there are slightly more pressing matters at hand here!" she shouted ripping open a packet of sulfate powder.

He silently agreed and helped her until Doc Roe showed up. Adriana was not surprised to hear Winters' voice the loudest. He was shouting orders over the exploding mortars and MG fire. Adriana rolled out of the foxhole much to Luz's frustration, and darted across the open area between cover. She dropped down beside Perconte and took aim at the opposing Hedgerow. The only thing she could see was the muzzle flashes of the Germans, but she aimed and fired anyway.

She could hear Winters' yelling at Guarnere to shift MG fire to cover the crest of the hill. Adriana stood and ran around behind her boys and leaped into a foxhole as a mortar exploded the trees above her. She landed on Blithe, who was cowering uselessly. She had little patience for men who couldn't do their jobs. Especially if not doing their jobs usually ended in the man next to you dying. She pushed away from him probably harder than necessary and jumped out of the hole. She jogged around behind the men relaying Winters' orders.

"Everybody stay low! Keep firing. Lay it on em' boys!"

She dropped next to Liebgott as he was fixing a jam in his gun.

"How yah doing Lieb?" she yelled over the noise.

"I'd be better if every damn Kraut was in a shallow grave!" he shouted back.

"I hear yah," Adriana laughed. "Keep it up."

She dashed away and hit the ground next to Bull, and got off a few more rounds. Suddenly an explosion too big for a mortar went off a few feet behind them. Adriana and Bull were thrown forward onto the open field between the Hedgerows. For a moment they were both too stunned to move, but the continuing MG fire that was getting closer to them woke them up. Bull struggled to his feet and pulled Adriana to hers. Together they jumped back over the hill and to safety.

"Are you alright?" Adriana yelled.

"Fine!" Bull shouted back.

"That wasn't a mortar! It was too big. What was it?"

Her question was answered by someone yelling the warning 'Tank!'

"Great," Bull hissed.

Adriana left him and darted back toward first platoon. She tripped over Buck who was helping someone who was injured.

"Hey Rose!" he said surprisingly happily for the situation. "Good to see your ok!"

"Yeah you too Buck. Be careful hu?" she said happily.

"Always am!" he shouted back.

Adriana then found her way back to Harry and first platoon. She skidded to a stop behind Harry who was in the process of saying, "Where did they come from?"

As the tanks fired Dog and Fox company turned tail and ran from the Hedgerow.

"Holy shit! There goes our left flank!" Welsh yelled to anyone who was listening.

Adriana glanced up at him and could see a plan forming in his green eyes.

"Harry don't do anything stupid!" Adriana pleaded.

"Go help Perconte keep the men in order!" Harry yelled to her.

"Harry please-"

"Go Lt! Now!"

Adriana set her jaw and got up. The one and only reason she hated being a 2nd Lt. She had to take orders from almost everyone. She dashed toward Perconte and Luz who were firing on the far right side of 1st platoon.

"Keep low boys! Keep firing!" she yelled as she ran.

Eventually she made her way across to Perconte and Luz. She hit the dirt just as a mortar hit the trees above her and crawled up to them.

"Well what brings you to these parts of the woods Lt?" Perconte asked.

"Welsh told me to!" she yelled back. "Speaking of which, I think he is going to do something stupid so watch him boys."

Adriana took aim at a German and dropped him. He went down in front of a tank tread and Adriana felt sorry for him as it ran him over, squishing his torso. In the back of her mind she could hear Winters' yelling at Blithe to get out of his hole and fire his weapon. She was glad someone was getting that soldier on his feet. As she was pondering this, a mortar hit one of the tanks perfectly and Adriana thanked God for Malarkey's precision. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught Welsh and McGrath running out onto the field in front of an advancing tank.

"Damn it, I knew it," she said. "Covering fire!"

The men around her concentrated their fire on the Germans running down the hill at Harry.

"Keep it up!" she yelled as she stood and shot a German who had his sights trained on the little Italian.

She looked around frantically for the closest MG and found it being operated by Smokey. She squirmed through the bushes and made it to him.

"Concentrate fire around Harry! Cover him!"

Smokey followed her orders and turned the MG left. It was then she noticed the blood running down his face. She pulled a bandage out of her pocket and pressed it to the side of his head, just as Harry and McGrath were thrown off their feet by an explosion. Adriana tied the bandage around Smokey's head then crawled to where she could get a good shot. It happened to be right next to Liebgott. There she fired until Harry and McGrath accomplished blowing up the tank and made it back over the hill.

"You hit a home run you idiot?" Adriana yelled to Harry.

He didn't answer and they continued to fire on the Germans. Adriana listened for voices she could place with faces. She heard Buck yelling for a medic and Winters' continuing to shout orders. As she reloaded, she thought to herself that Winters' was a one of a kind man. Not many people who are in charge throw themselves into battle like he did. He was a true leader.

"Go check on the rest of first for me will yah?" Harry yelled to Adriana.

She silently complied. Soon she was back with Perconte and Luz firing on the German line. Adriana only had time to fire another full clip when Perconte whooped. She glanced up at him then to where he was looking. What she saw made her so happy she could have grabbed Luz and kissed him, though she didn't, and when she realized what she was thinking, she internally kicked herself. There were Shermans coming over the next hill. A whole hell of a lot of Shermans. She let out her own whoop and a cry came from down the line.

"Germans in the open!"

"That's right you sorry asses run!" Perconte shouted.

They finally had the Germans on the run. The battle had only really lasted a few minutes, but to everyone involved, it felt like a lifetime. As Adriana watched, a tree exploded sending German troops flying all over. She stopped shooting for a minute just to watch all of them fall under Easy's fire. It was a glorious thing. Adriana didn't think about the word glorious until after the battle. It was not a strange thing to use glorious to describe the death of other men. It was exactly what she felt at that moment. The Germans were mostly dead and it was glorious.

_**Review, review, REVIEW!**_


	17. Here We Go Again

_**Hi guys! A new chapter! Sooo i'm going to be gone until Friday so dont be to worried if I dont have a new chapter up until like monday. Aneyway, Enjoy all!**_

_**I own nothing but Adriana Roosevelt.**_

After eighteen more days on the line, Easy was finally pulled back to England. The men who were uninjured were laughing and smoking. Adriana hadn't seen the men this happy since before the jump into Normandy. Their joyous mood didn't stop for almost three months while they recuperated in Aldbourn and it just got better when Smokey Gordon and Talbert got back. That day they were eating in the mess hall when Smokey stood up and announced he had something to say. The men were all clapping and rambunctious and had to be shushed by some of the officers before Smokey could start his story. Adriana smacked Hoob in the back of the head as she sat down next to Luz. As everyone calmed down, Smokey began.

"The night of the Bayonet. The night was filled with dark and cold, when Sergeant Talbert the story's told, pulled out his poncho and headed out, to check the lines dressed like a Kraut."

As Smokey paused for effect Malarkey and Moor came in and Malarkey sat next to Talb.

"Hey why are you in such a hurry to get back hu?" he asked pushing Talb and reaching around Adrian to grab a cigarette from Muck.

"Upon a trooper our hero came, fast asleep; he called his name. 'Smith, oh Smith, get up, it's time to take your turn out on the line.'"

The men laughed and Talb caught the eye of a very sheepish Smith. He smiled at him. As Smokey continued, Adriana caught sight of Winters talking to Nixon. His face was more stony than usual, and Adriana wondered what was wrong.

"Private Smith, so very weary, cracked an eye all ready and bleary, grabbed his rifle and did not tarry, hearing Floyd but seeing Jerry. 'It's me!' cried Talb. 'Don't do it!' and yet, Smith charged toute suite with bayonet. He lunged, the thrust, both high and low and skewered the boy from Kokomo!"

Another laugh ran through the men and Adriana watched as Winters went to Harry, Buck and Lipton, all their faces eventually mirroring his. Finally Lip turned and found Adriana. He nodded her over. Just as she was about to get up, Guarnere made a friend out of a replacement. Heffron was his name. Guarnere ushered him to sit down and Adriana stood up.

"Here have my seat," she offered.

He hadn't noticed her before and now, standing looking down at her he didn't know what to do.

"Hey she ain't gonna bite," Guarnere promised.

"Adriana Roosevelt," she said sticking her hand out to him.

"Otherwise known as Rosie," Muck said.

"Nice to meet you-" he struggled with weather to say ma'am or miss or Lt.

"Rosie is fine," she said taking his hand. "I'll be back boys."

"How the hell did a woman get into the army?" Heffron said surprised as he sat down.

"Did yah pay attention to her last name?" Luz questioned. "Roosevelt?"

Heffron looked confused for a second, and then it sunk in.

"As in FDR? Our PRESIDENT?"

"That's the one. She is the President's daughter," Guarnere said smiling watching her go.

As Smokey finished and informed Talb that he would be getting one of his purple hearts, Adriana made it through the men to Lipton.

"Hey Lip. What's up?" she asked.

"Listen Adri, we are headed out. Back to France. From Membury at 0700."

"Damn," Adriana hissed rubbing her face. "I guess that means all passes are canceled?"

"Yes ma'am," he said.

"Great. You want me to tell them?"

"I was going to give you the choice," Lipton said watching her face carefully.

"I'll do it," she said "Thanks Lip."

She moved to the middle of the room where everyone could see her and got their attention.

"Listen up boys!" she said, almost shouting to be heard over the noise. "First, the training exercise scheduled for 2200 has been canceled."

There were cheers all around, but Adriana wasn't done so she held up a hand.

"Secondly, all passes are revoked. We are heading back to France, so pack up all your gear. We will not be returning to England boys. Anyone who has not made out a will, go to the supply office. Trucks depart trucks depart from membury at 0700. As you were."

Everyone glanced around for a few seconds surprised, then they began to disperse back to their bunks. Adriana sighed as she watched the Taccoa men's forlorn faces contrasted with the replacements excitement. She had a feeling what to come was going to be much harder than Brecourt or Carentan.

"Lt. Take a walk with me."

Adriana turned to meet Winters icy eyes. His face never seemed to change, but his eyes were somehow different.

"Yes sir," she said following him out into the street.

She watched his face for a long time afraid she already knew what he wanted to talk to her about. After walking to the edge of town Winters stopped and faced her.

"I spoke to Speirs."

Adriana sighed and let her eyes fall from his face.

"Yes sir. I should have stayed with Easy. The rest of the men are unpredictable and I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again. Besides, the men from Dog and Fox should be concentrating on fighting and-"

"Lt stop," Winters interrupted holding up a hand. "None of this was your fault. Speirs and I agreed that you should feel free to go wherever you please and not be afraid of getting harassed. Although this is what should happen, it probably won't. You are not in trouble, but you may not go anywhere without an escort. Is that clear Lt?"

"Yes sir," Adriana said with a sigh of relief.

"Now I believe Easy is in the bar down the street celebrating their last day in England. Go have fun."

"Do you want to escort me sir?" she asked smiling.

"No I believe Lipton is headed that way," Winters said, his mouth curving up.

Lipton turned at his name and waited for her to catch up to him.

"Thank you sir," Adriana said to Winters then followed Lipton.

The bar was only across the street, but Adriana realized just how seriously Winters was taking this new order. As she walked into the bar, the first thing she noticed was Luz and Buck playing their little trick on Babe and Toye. Adriana laughed and shook her head. She enjoyed their tricks and it had obviously been Luz's idea. Instead of going over to them, she sat at the bar and ordered a beer. She watched from there.

"Now take it easy Lt. You still have a shot," Luz was saying to Buck who threw the dart and almost missed the bored all together.

Babe and Toye cheered and Luz patted Buck's shoulder.

"Tough break, it's a tough night, people have tough nights."

"Sorry George," Buck said acting very sad indeed.

"It's alright," Luz said smiling.

"Nice shot sir," Bull said smiling and handing the darts to Babe.

"Alright Heff what's it gonna be?" Luz asked.

"Double sevens," Babe answered lining up his shot.

He threw the dart and cheered with Toye.

"Come on Babe, your making the Lt look bad," Guarnere said slapping his friend on the back. "Have a drink."

"Ah don't mind if I do sarge," Babe said taking the beer.

"Better start winning some money soon. I think your boys are starting to miss you," Guarnere said motioning to the replacements Babe had gone through training with.

"Yeah they do look kind of sad don't they?" Babe said with a smile.

"They just know you're a serious fightin' man that's all," Bull drawled taking a drag off his cigar.

"Well I think I'm going to introduce myself," Guarnere said as Babe went back to his game

"Careful what you say now. It don't take much to set my guys off," Bull said.

"Yeah you got some wild killers there Bull," Martin scoffed as Guarnere laughed.

Adriana smiled as Toye and Babe made a bet with Luz and Buck. She knew she should go stop it before Babe and Toye lost all their smokes, but she was very content to just watch.

"What first to hit the bulls eye?" Buck asked innocently.

"Yeah two packs?"

"Yeah two packs. Let's go."

As Bull lined up Adriana counted down until Luz asked that question.

"3…2…1,"

"Hey uh Buck you gonna shoot lefty all night?"

Adriana laughed out loud at the looks on Babe and Toye's faces.

"Just curious because he is right handed," Luz said, hardly able to keep the grin off his face.

"George. What would I do without George Luz?" Buck asked and before anyone could ask questions, the threw the dart and got a perfect bulls eye marked by George making a noise that sounded like 'Boop'

"Goodness gracious! That's two packs gentlemen. Pay up I know you got em'!"

Adriana decided now would be a good time to step in. She took her beer and sauntered over to the group and laid a hand on Toye's shoulder.

"Now Babe I feel bad for, but Toye, you must have seen this done a hundred times," she said smiling at Luz.

Toye shook his head and handed over a pack to Buck and started to hand one to Luz, but Adriana snatched it.

"Hey that's mine!" Luz protested.

"No I believe it's mine," Adriana said waving a finger at the radioman. "I thought about coming over here and stopping this little game before it started but I didn't. This is my payment."

She smiled as he backed off, letting out a laugh.

"And if your nice to me, I may let you have one," she added.

She stowed the smokes away and went to watch what was happening with the replacements and Guarnere. He was just in the process of telling them about Babe and Doris.

"Hey Bull, your squad listens up real good," Guarnere told the southerner.

"Yeah they are being polite like whenever Bull opens his mouth," Martin said taking a swig of his beer.

Guarnere took a drag off his newly lit cancer stick and turned to Martin.

"Johnny what are you sayin'? Bull's boys are just humoring him?"

"Yeah like whenever he gives out some of his folksy wisdom from back down on the farm," Martin said smiling at Bull, who looked scary and serious to everyone but the Toccoa men.

"They probably think he is a fucking hay seed," Guarnere said. "They'd be right."

Bull's boys laughed a little bit reluctantly.

"You new boys, pay attention to Sergeant Randleman, got that? That's the smartest man in the company," Guarnere said.

When they nodded, he got up and walked away. Adriana smiled and elbowed Bull in the arm. He turned to her.

"They afraid of me Bull?"

"Hell yeah they are," Bull said smiling. "They have only heard about you. The woman with nine lives who got choked to death on D-day and got shot through the foot in Carentan."

"I'm going to go make friends," she said finishing her beer.

"I think someone beat you to it," Martin noticed nodding to Cobb.

"Damn," Adriana said walking over so she could listen.

Cobb was the only Toccoa man Adriana couldn't stand. He was a pompous ass and Adriana was in no mood for it tonight. He was elbowing the Miller in the arm.

"Where did yah get that?" he asked pointing to the blue bar on his uniform.

"It's a presidential distinguished unit citation. For what the regiment did in Normandy."

"That's right. For what the REGIMENT did. You weren't there," Cobb growled.

"Hey ease up Cobb," Hoob said putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's a unit citation."

Cobb looked back at Miller and glared at him. Miller looked at him then around the circle and finally at Bull and Adriana. Her blood was boiling and all she wanted to do was punch Cobb in the mouth. Miller finally looked down, unpinned the citation bar, set it on the table and walked away. He smiled at them as he passed. Adriana glanced at Bull, who could feel the rage pouring off of her. He walked up, picked up the bar and said, "Shit Cobb. You didn't fight in Normandy neither."

He handed the bar to Adriana who walked up next to him as he explained to Ramirez that he got hit in the plane before he could jump.

"Cobb," Adriana hessed.

He looked up and grudgingly stood. He hated her just as much as she hated him.

"Ma'am?" he said in a monotone.

She stepped up to him so her face was right in his.

"Go give this back to Private Miller please," she said venomously as she pushed the blue bar into his palm.

"Ma'am I-"

"That is an order," she hissed.

"Yes ma'am," he growled and stomped over to Miller.

Adriana watched him shove it into his hand and walk to the bar just as Smokey stood up on a table.

"Hey ya'll! Listen up! I got us an announcement to make!"

He grabbed Lipton's shoulder and pulled him around introducing him.

"He's already married Smokey," Malarkey said laughing.

"This here is Carwood Lipton, the new Easy company 1st Sergeant!" he said happily.

Everyone yelled and clapped their congratulations. Adriana whistled. She didn't know another man who deserved it more than Lip.

"Now because of his new position, he says he has an announcement for us," Smokey said.

"Well hate to break the mood here boys, but we are moving out again," he said.

The room was quiet for a few minutes as what was happening set in.

The next morning, Winters and the officers and NCO's had the men assembled and listening to Winters explain operation 'Market Garden.'

"In terms of airborne divisions, this is even bigger than Normady. We are dropping deep into occupied Holland. The allied objective is to take this rode here between Eindhoven and Arnhem, so the British armored division can move up to Arnhem. Our job is going to be to liberate Eindhoven, stay there, wait for the tanks."

Adriana was standing on the other side of Welsh listening intently to Winters, like all the men. Her eyes roamed over the faces she had known for over two years, with replacements mixed in. Miller, Hershey, and Ramirez were toward the back, trying to keep their faces calm, but they were all wringing their hands they were so nervous.

Adriana met Luz's eyes behind a cloud of smoke trickling up from his mouth. He smiled when he saw her and the cloud poofed up and rose high above their heads, eventually disappearing. He winked at her then turned back to listen to Winters. Adriana's gaze wandered over the men, and came to rest on Shifty. He was sitting in the farthest row looking at his hands. There was something wrong with him and she made a mental note to talk to him before their jump. Nixon was talking now and Adriana pulled her attention back to him.

"The entire European advance has been put on hold to allocate resources for this operation. Montgomery's personal plan will be under British command."

Easy company groaned collectively hearing that the British were in command of this operation. Adriana spied Guarnere roll his eyes and shake his head. Nixon continued.

"Te good news is, if this works, the tanks will be over the Rhine and into Germany, and that could end the war and get us home by Christmas."

The men liked that idea.

"It will be a daytime jump, intelligence doesn't expect much opposition. They think the Krauts in Holland are mostly kids and old men, and we should take them by surprise. In any case, say goodbye to England, I don't think they are going to call this one off."

The men were dismissed and all went out to the air field. Adriana followed with the officers. Buck, Welsh and Adriana turned and made a tight circle around Winters. He looked each of them in the eye before he spoke.

"You three," he began quietly. "Are the best Lts I have ever had. The men know it and the NCO's know it. If the Germans knew how good you were, they wouldn't even bother going to war. I have faith in you three. Now go out and get it done."

Buck and Welsh nodded and Adriana looked away. She was blushing and Winters noticed. He dismissed the other two and took Adriana by the arm. He patted her shoulder; a rare sign of affection from him.

"You have outdone yourself Roosevelt," he said with a smile. "In everything that you do."

Adriana's face turned a light pink again.

"I only try as hard as I can sir," she answered, her eyes downcast.

He found her eyes with his and pulled her gaze upward.

"Not everyone would do their best in everything they do. You are truly a soldier."

"Thank you sir," she said humbly.

"Now go help the men get ready," Winters said softly smiling at her blushing face.

"Yes sir. Thank you sir," she said and she jogged off toward the first replacements she saw.

_**Thanks guys! Review!**_


	18. Shifty's Feelings Known

_**Hey guys! sorry its taken me so long, but i have had rediculouse writers block and absolutly no time, but I'm back for now. Also, I'm sorry it was such a short chapter. Thank you to all my reviewers, you know who you are, and my readers. As always, I only own Adriana Roosevelt.**_

Before she even took three steps, someone stopped her with a hand on her arm. She turned and smiled at Shifty.

"Hey Shift. What's going on?" she asked remembering her earlier promise to herself to find out what is wrong with him.

"I'm just a little nervous for the jump," he said.

"Why Shift? It's not like we are jumping into Normady," she said jokingly.

He was unfazed. He looked like he had something to say.

"What's on your mind Shifty?" she asked taking his arm and pulling him off to the side.

He suddenly began to wring his hands and his face began to sweat.

"Shifty?" she pushed trying to find his eyes with hers.

"Good luck Adri," he said suddenly and bounded away leaving Adriana in a confused cloud of dust.

She just stood there for a few seconds wondering what had just happened. Finally she shook her head and turned to help the replacements. She pushed the strange encounter with Shifty to the back of her mind as she approached Hershey, Ramirez and Miller. Cobb seemed to be helping them.

"Watch and learn kids. If you want to live, jump ready to fight."

Cobb tossed Hershey's rifle bag to the ground and handed him his weapon. Miller and Ramirez glanced at each other as Adriana walked up.

"He is right," she said to them as Bull walked up.

Adriana began to explain how to hold the weapon while he jumped but Bull tapped her arm. She turned to him and followed his gaze and felt her mouth drop open. Every Toccoa man down the line looked up and his face mirrored Adriana's as Sobel drove by in a jeep. The jeep stopped in front of Adriana, Bull, Hoob and Web who starred with open fascination at their first CO. He glared back at them as he exited the jeep. He turned and went behind the truck and Adriana jogged to where Malarkey and Muck were standing. As she passed the Jeep she smiled and nodded at Popeye who was exiting the jeep.

"Malark, isn't that the motorcycle you and Moor almost killed yourselves on?" she whispered hurridly to him.

He glanced at her then up at the truck.

"Son of a bitch," he hissed when he saw the bike.

Muck smiled from his side until someone said Malarkeys name. The three of them turned and Muck promptly ran away. Adriana and Malarkey turned and saluted. Sobel, never missing an opportunity to try to get them into trouble, started right in on Malarkey.

"Sgt. Malarkey," he said and saluted. "Lt. Roosevelt."

She and Malarkey saluted back and there was a shadow of a smile on Sobel's face. Adriana almost thought he was happy to see them, but she should have known by then, he was never happy to see them.

"You thought you would get away with it?" he questioned Malarkey.

"What do you mean sir?" he asked keeping a straight face.

Sobel frowned. His dark eyes shifted to Adriana then over her head to someone behind her. He took in a small lungful of air and refocused back on Malarkey. Sgt. that motorcycle is United States Army property. That may not mean anything to you, but it means something to me."

He paused.

"Where did you find it?"

"I don't know what you mean sir," Malarkey said calmly.

Sobel turned to Adriana but Winters was calling her over. She sent an apologetic look at Malarkey and patted his arm as if to say 'stay strong' then saluted Sobel and went to Winters.

"Sir?" she asked.

"Help the replacements get ready," he said sending an icy glare at Sobel.

"Yes sir," she said nodding. "Thank you sir."

He gave her a sideways smile knowing exactly why she was thanking him and she ran off to see if the men were ready. She came across Martin who was talking to their new 1st Lt. about exiting the C-47. Martin already didn't like the young man, mostly because calling him a man would be stretching it considerably. He was barley eighteen. Adriana caught Martin's eyes, which he rolled. She smiled back and continued moving through the men, giving encouragement and helpful hints to any replacements she found. Miller was immediately taken with her. He began strategically placing himself in the line she was walking through the men. Bull noticed but let him continue to run into her 'accidentally.'

"Well Miller you get around don't you?" she asked. "What is this, the sixth time we have run into each other?"

"I guess," Miller said, feeling his cheeks flush.

"Well I'm glad. Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah I guess so. I don't want to be too cocky or anything, but yeah, I'm ready."

"Good don't get cocky. Those who get cocky die," she warned.

"That is not true!" came a voice from behind them. "I am the cockiest son of a bitch here, and I'm fine."

"Maybe for now Luz," Adriana said immediately knowing who it was by the way his voice instantly calmed her. "Just wait. You will get what is coming to you."

Luz made a mock sad face.

"But you would be sad if I died right?" he asked.

Adriana thought about it for a minute then said, "No probably not."

"What about Miller?" he asked gesturing to a surprised replacement. "Would you be sad if he died?"

"Of course I would!" she said immediately.

"Come on Bell. You have known me for over two years and this kid for two days," he said still putting on a sad face.

"Alright, maybe I would be a _little_ sad," she consented.

A smile broke across his face as Adriana patted his arm.

"I'll see you at the plane Luz. Miller, good luck with your jump."

"Thanks Lt." he said as she jogged away from them.

Luz started to walk away but Miller followed.

"Hey why do you call her Bell?" he asked falling into step next to him.

Luz shrugged dismissively.

"Don't know. Guarnere came up with Rosie, and almost everyone started calling her that so I needed something different."

"Oh," said Miller stiffly.

He walked awkwardly behind Luz for a few more steps before Luz turned.

"You like her?" Luz asked.

"Yeah, doesn't everybody?" he asked.

"Yeah, well don't like her too much," Luz warned, punching his shoulder rather hard. "Have a good jump."

"Yeah you too," Miller said rubbing his arm.

He jogged back to Bull, Hershey and Ramirez and jumped on his plane.

Adriana made one more round making sure all the men were good before she headed to her plane. She got there just as Winters was pushing the last guy onto the plane.

"Your late Lt."

"I'm sorry sir. I was just making sure everyone had everything they needed before their jump."

Winters nodded his approval.

"Well let's go," he said reaching for her from the doorway.

She almost had time to grab his hand but someone yelled her name. She turned to see a very flustered Shifty running up to her. She glanced at Winters who raised an eyebrow but said, "You have five minutes."

She dropped from the ladder up to the doorway and turned to Shifty.

"Hey Shift what's-" but her sentence was swallowed as Shifty's lips crashed against hers.

She felt herself collide with the side of the C-47 as Shifty trapped her between his body and the warm metal. Feeling his warm lips against her and being enveloped in his embrace was something she didn't even know she was missing until it was happening. For half a second she was too surprised to move, but when Shifty's hand came up her side and landed on her face, she put her hand on his chest and pushed away. Once some space was put between them she panted a little. She could feel his eyes on her and eventually she looked up. She met the green depths with a strange sadness inside of her.

"Shifty I-" but once again she didn't get to finish her sentence.

Winters had appeared at the door of the plane causing Shifty to throw himself away from her and dart back across the field to his plane. Winters' ever watchful eyes had not missed the escapade but he didn't say anything about it. He put out a hand to her and she sheepishly took it. He pulled her up and she seated herself between Luz and Guarnere.

As she got comfortable, she rubbed her hand over her lips, taking with her the feeling of Shifty's soft lips on hers.

"How you doing Rosie?" Bill shouted over the C-47's engine.

"I think I'll be alright," she said out without really thinking about what was coming out of her mouth.

"You will be alright?" Bill asked concerned. "What's going on?"

Adriana glanced at the men around her who were mostly talking among themselves, but some, like Luz, Perconte, and Malarkey were trying to read her lips and listen to the conversation.

"I'll tell you on the ground," she said into his ear.

He looked at her for a second then nodded. Adriana wasn't sure how long the actual plane ride took, but the only thing she could think about was Shifty. That's why he had been so strange lately. He wanted to kiss her. It was odd that she had known him for two years, and she had never once thought of him like that. Apparently it had been brewing in his mind for a little while now. About an hour later the green light came on and once again the 101st airborne was out the doors.

It had been a while since any of the men were in their air, slowly floating to the ground under deployed canopies. The jump into Holland was much nicer than the jump into Normandy. The sun was shining, their planes weren't exploding around them, and there weren't Germans in every direction. Everyone managed to land in his drop zone, which was also a first for the Paratroopers.

Once on the ground, most of the men were naturals at quickly and efficiently getting out of their chutes, even the replacements, but others, including Hershey, had a hard time. As Adriana was enjoying the ride to the ground, she saw Bull helping Hershey out of his chute. When she hit the ground next to them, he looked dejected. He apologized to Bull, who waved a dismissive hand and ushered him to hurry.

Adriana smiled as she easily got out of her own chute, picked up her weapon and began making her way to the assembly area. As she jogged she saw Talbert landing ahead of her. He noticed her too and said, "Heya Rosie. This is much nicer than our first jump hu?"

"That it its Talb. Not many trees on this DZ."

"Well there probably wasn't on the last one either. We just didn't quite make it there."

Adriana smiled and handed Talb his rifle then followed him off the field. The assembly area turned out to be no more than a small ditch on the side of a road. How she loathed sitting in a ditch waiting for something to happen. Just as she was deciding she should go find out what the hold up was, Buck found her.

"There is some kind of hold up ahead," he said as he crouched next to her. "We are going in through this field here."

"I'll pass the word," she said and stood, keeping low in the ditch.

She trudged down the line until she saw the radio antenna she knew marked the spot Luz would be with Harry. When she got to them, she dropped next to the small Italian man.

"Buck says we are going in through this field," she relayed the message.

"Great," Welsh sighed. "Alright second platoon let's move," he whispered loudly.

He pushed out of the ditch and was followed by a few scattered complaints from 2nd. The men marched through open fields where they could easily have been picked off by snipers, and it was make Adriana nervous. She knew the men felt the same. Once she stepped on a twig making Perconte jump out of his skin.

"It's too quiet," she whispered to Luz, who was walking along side her.

He responded with a grunt. She glanced at him and watched his brown eyes for a second. They were scanning back and forth, the business end of his rifle following his gaze. A little while later they came up on a town, and not much was silent anymore. As soon as they got close to Eindhoven they could hear shouting, and singing. Before they entered, Welsh grabbed her arm.

"Don't let the men scatter," he warned her, but once they were in the town, it was all Adriana could do to not let herself get swept away in the excitement.

People were everywhere. On rooftops and balconies, inside of restaurants, crowding into the street. Adriana was glad they didn't have vehicles because she could hardly get herself through the throngs of people. She, Winters, Nix, Buck, Welsh and the NCOs did the best they could keeping the men together, but women were literally throwing themselves at the soldiers. Adriana even got a kiss or two from happy women who really didn't know who they were putting their lips on.

A child darted in front of Adriana suddenly and ran straight to Hoob, who picked him up and spun him around. People were all around Adriana trying to shake her hand and talk to her, but she had to find her men. Buck suddenly appeared at her side.

"Lt, have you seen Winters?"

"No sorry Buck. I can't really see anything."

"It's alright. Keep the boys moving."

"You got it Buck," she responded rather sarcastically as a woman tried to kiss her again.

From the back of the line she could hear their new 1st Lt. yelling something about moving, but no one seemed to be listening, and he sounded very frustrated. Not that Adriana really cared. She didn't like him and found it entertaining when he was flustered. As she pushed into a clearing of people, she saw Perconte's raven hair in between some woman's breasts. She laughed and pulled him along with her.

They passed into a semi circle where Hoob, Babe, Talbert, Guarnere and Martin were taking a picture with seven or eight kids and a few women. Talbert had his arm securely around one, and Martin was being smothered by another. Perconte jumped in at once, and with a gentle tug from Guarnere, Adriana gave in and knelt with one of the children in front. The picture was taken, to live forever on the mantle of some resident of Eindhoven.

Adriana then managed to press the men forward only to be stopped by a small, tight crowd gathered around women who had slept with the Germans. There wasn't much time to muse about the poor women who were getting their clothes torn and their hair haphazardly chopped off because the ground started to shake. The men instinctively got low but there was no need. It was only the British tanks rolling into town. Adriana, as short as she was, couldn't see anything so she climbed atop a mail box to see the large metal giants.

1234

Later that night Adriana and a squad of men were bedding down in a field. Most were asleep on the hay or under a tree. Adriana was once again moving among them, checking on them, smoking with them, and talking. She purposely avoided Shifty because she still had to think through what to do about it. She knew she could make up feelings for him until they were real, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Finally she knew what she needed to do.

"Hey Bill," she said leaning over a hay bale.

"Heya Rosie," Bill responded happily. "Come here!"

He opened his arms and Adriana rolled over the hay and leaned against the bale. Bill sat up and leaned against her shoulder.

"What's going on Rosie girl?" he asked seeing the distress in her face.

"I don't know what to do Bill," she said ominously.

"About what?" he asked.

"Before we jumped, Shifty- Shifty kissed me."

"Shifty? Our Shifty?" Bill asked, the surprise evident in not only his voice but his face as well.

"Yeah," Adriana said taking a helmet off and running a hand through her hair.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked surprisingly calm.

"I don't know. That's why I wanted to talk to you."

Bill smiled.

"How do you feel about him?"

"He is like my brother. You all are, but I can't deny he is adorable, and I could love him that way-"

"Adriana," Bill said stopping her with a raised hand. "You said could. Any time you are dealing with love, you need to say 'do.' You need to be sure. If you're not with Shifty, tell him."

Adriana frowned and looked away from him.

"You need to be sure," Bill said again. "Especially with you Rosie girl."

He put a gentle hand on her cheek and turned her eyes to meet his.

"Why especially me?" she asked after a minute.

Bill laughed, his brown eyes sparkling.

"Because your something special baby. You should NEVER settle."

Adriana felt her face flush under Bill's hand.

"Thank you Bill," she said wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "What would I do without you?"

"Well you would still be posing as Adrian if not for me," he joked.

Adriana responded with a laugh and stood.

"Get some sleep Bill."

"Yes ma'am," he answered and leaned back on his hay bed.

Adriana left Bill and headed straight for Shifty knowing exactly what she was going to do.

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	19. Market Garden

**_Hey guys! I'm SO sorry its been such a long time! I have had so much to do its rediculous. But I'm back now so I hope you enjoy. Thank you to all my reviewers, _**_Liliesshadow, the everchanging, FireIsLove, and LauRa-ReaDinG-XoX.** Thank you all and I love you! As always I own nothing except Adriana Roosevelt. Love Yah!**_

Adriana was rather nervous as she walked to where she knew he was. When she rounded a tree she could see him sitting with his back to her. She walked up to his back slowly.

"Shifty?" she said.

He jumped and turned to her. When he realized it was her, he got to his feet so quickly that he somehow ended up on his backside. Adriana sighed quietly to herself and offered him her hand. He took it and pulled himself up.

"Heya Adri," he said quietly.

Even in the darkness she could his cheeks flush.

"Shifty, I need to talk to you about what happened."

He didn't interrupt like Adriana had expected. He was just waiting patiently. His eyes were hopeful and expectant. It killed her to do this to him.

"Shift, I… I can't do this. I am an officer. I can't- I can't have a relationship with you. With any of the men. I'm sorry."

She added the apology at the end because poor Shifty's eyes were very sad.

"Its- It's alright Adri," he said. "I understand."

He began to back away and Adriana let him go. She had other things to worry about like making sure the rest of the men were ready for the following day. She felt awful, but nothing could be done about it. She had made the right choice that she was sure of. She just had to believe Shifty would get his emotions under control before the battle. She sighed and found a patch of long grass where she laid down and for the first time in a long time, had a good night sleep.

* * *

The next day, Easy Company set out for the next town to begin Operation Market Garden. As six tanks rolled down the road, most of Easy was riding with only a few walking along side. One of whom was Lt. Brewer. The Tall man was so far, mostly useless in battle, and now was no different. He was already about six four and was walking out about thirty yards in front of the front tank. Adriana could already for see a problem.

She was walking next to the third tank that was carrying Guarnere and his squad, along with Lip and his. Buck was riding along with Muck, Penkala and Malarkey. Adriana stayed between that tank and the one behind mostly because she had watched Shifty bored the second tank. She was still a little worried about him, but he was a soldier. 'He would be fine,' she told herself.

Suddenly, Bull yelling from the front tank then a shot brought her from her thoughts. She flinched and waited for something else to happen like the rest of the men. She glanced to her left and caught sight of a half track bursting through the trees.

"Get off the tanks!" she shouted, knowing the tanks were the biggest targets for mortars. "Go, go. Let's go!"

Adriana ran around pulling men off the metal giants and pushing them forward into a ditch for cover. As soon as the men were clear, the British tanks began shooting. One of the half tracks exploaded just as Adriana dove into the ditch. She landed on top of Perconte.

"Jesus watch where you're going you- oh hey Adri!"

"Hey Perco," she said hurridly as she pulled a recruit into the ditch with her.

Adriana looked up to where Bull was shouting.

"Get moving! Get up! Keep moving!"

She looked down the line to his squad. It was Hershey who wasn't moving.

"Shit," she hissed then turned to Webster. "Cover me."

Web and Perconte turned their rifles on the Germans as Adriana dashed from cover to Bull's men.

"Hershey get up!" she shouted but the soldier didn't listen.

Luckily Bull was right there pulling him up.

"Don't be a stationary target! Get moving!"

Finally Hershey pulled himself up and ran behind Bull into the town.

"First farmhouse deploy right!" Bull yelled.

They hit the wall and Bull sent Hoob around the back. Adriana followed him as they rounded the building and picked up Webster and a few others. They stopped behind a low wall for half a second then Adriana led them over the wall and to a hay bale.

"I have to go find Welsh. You alright Hoob?" Adriana asked.

"Yeah Adri, I'm fine. Go ahead."

She patted his back and darted off to a building. A dog started barking as she hit the wall. She glanced around her, feeling the ground rumbling. She spotted the tanks behind her and smiled as she continued toward the wall. She found Guarnere and his squad and followed them further into the town. Bill leaned around a wall and whistled to get his men's attention. He held up a fist indicating them to hold there.

"Hey Bill you seen Welsh?" she asked.

"No sorry Rosie. Check with Buck," he answered pointing with his rifle.

"Thanks Bill. Be careful hu?"

"Always Rosie!" he said with a smile.

Adriana darted away from Bill and his squad and as she jumped the first wall she ran into Martin. He grabbed her arm and pulled her with him.

"Uh Martin I have to find,-"

"No you have to get down," he hissed not releasing her arm.

He pulled her into the patio of a café and crouched in the corner. Adriana followed his gaze across the opening to where she almost missed the German tank.

"Tiger?" Martin asked.

"Tiger," she confirmed. "Shit."

She pointed down the road to where the British tanks were coming.

"Grab Babe and follow me," she said.

"Heffron, let's go," Martin said as he got up and followed Adriana.

They jogged toward the British tank and Adriana raised her rifle above her head to indicate they were friends.

Adriana clambered up onto the tank while Babe and Martin stood guard below. The tank driver looked confused and almost annoyed. She bent down next to his ear and still had to shout to be heard.

"You got a Kraut tank, a hundred yards on the left side," she said pointing.

"I don't see him," he said as he took his binoculars from his eyes.

"You put a couple of shells through that building, you will see him perfectly."

"I can't. My orders say no un-necessary destruction of property."

"I'm telling you he is right there," Adriana said praying he would take her advice.

"I believe you, but if I can't see the bugger I can't very well shoot him can I? Are you staying or going?"

Adriana shook her head and dropped from the tank.

"He is going to see you real soon!" she shouted up to him just as the tank rolled forward.

She and the boys darted back to their squad ahead of the tank. It took less than a minute for the Tiger to see the British tank. Adriana heard Bull shout to his squad to fall back as the second British tank exploded. The wall where Bull's squad was exploded sending bricks and dust down on them. They scrambled to get away from the falling debris but Bull was thrown in the opposite direction. Adriana saw his helmet come off as he tried to get back to his squad, but was blocked by MG fire.

They now had their attention on Bull who was running the other way. They were missing thankfully, but Adriana didn't know how long Bull could dodge them. She was forced to duck as an explosion rocked the building behind her. When she came up, the tank Bull had been behind was in flames, and Bull was gone. Her heart began beating quickly until she saw him crawling in a ditch. She let her breath out happily, but immediately realized she was relieved to soon. The tank was still moving and Bull was right in its path.

She and Martin watched in horror as the tank knocked over a telephone pole. Bull was completely out of sight now, so Martin and Adriana could only imagine what was happening to him, if he was even still alive.

"Bull!" Martin shouted.

He fired on the German's that were advancing on their position. Adriana could see a steady stream of enemy coming into view and she knew she needed to get the men back.

"Pull back!" she shouted grabbing Martin's arm. "Go, Go! Martin come on!"

He was still firing on the MG on the roof. He fired a few more rounds then followed her with a string of curse words. Bull was still in the front of her mind, but she knew she had to get the rest of the men to safety before she could try to find Bull. She fired a blanket of covering fire while Martin shooed his men out of the town and toward safety. She turned and was ready to follow when the MG changed its fire to chase after Martin and the boys. She was trapped between the MG fire and the wood wall.

She went prone and began beating the wood wall trying to make a hole so she could get through. Finally she pulled out her side arm and shot a semi circle at the bottom of the wall. She rolled over and began kicking at the weakened wood. After what seemed like hours, the wood splintered and Adriana squished herself through. She came out behind a hedge.

She glanced around her looking for the enemy and her friends. The enemy must have been on the other side of the hedge so she was safe for the moment. She stayed on her stomach and crawled as far as the hedge went. At the end she stood, took a breath and dashed across the open space and threw herself over a low wall. There she laid for a minute catching her breath. She then heard an unmistakable shout.

She looked around for Buck and found him in the yard of the next building along with Malarkey, Muck, Penkala, Alley and another squad. She followed the wall to the corner, jumped over and began to run. As soon as her feet were on the ground, the machine gunners seemed to see her. Dirt sprayed up at her feet where the bullets hit the ground. The rounds drove her faster and she made it to the opposite wall where Malarkey was waiting to hoist her over the wall. He reached over and hooked his arms under hers and in one fluid motion yanked her over the wall. She rolled over the wall and landed on top of Malarkey. He let out a small oof, but Adriana let out a strangled cry.

"What's wrong?" he asked taking her shoulders and pushing her back to get a better look.

"My shoulder," she moaned.

Malarkey rolled her off of him and onto her back. He gasped at the blood seeping through her uniform. He shouted for Buck who was in the process of helping Muck with his jammed gun. He crawled over but Adriana was already struggling to get up.

"I'm fine Malark. We have to move."

"Will you relax and let me help you?" Malarkey said frustrated.

"No she's right. If she can make it, then we have to get out of here Malark," Buck said. "You sure you can make it?"

"Yes Buck," she panted.

"Good let's move. Malark you stay with her alright?"

"Yes sir," Malarkey said shouldering his rifle and helping her to her feet.

"Alright let's move boys, let's move!" Buck said pushing his men back behind the building.

Malarkey slid an arm around Adriana's middle and pulled her unhurt arm around his shoulder. She tried to keep her other arm from moving, but it still hurt. She didn't complain though. It felt like ages before they made it to a building where she could rest for a second. They met with Guarnere's squad at the wall. Adriana instantly heard Luz's voice and searched for him. She spotted him on the radio frantically telling whoever it was the Germans outnumbered the Americans.

"We have infantry everywhere! Repeat, armor has cut the road we are covered in infantry!"

Suddenly Adriana felt herself falling into blackness. She grabbed for Malarkey's jacket and said something that sounded like his name.

"Adri? Hey stay with me Adri!"

She could hear Malarkey, but she couldn't make her eyes open. She felt her legs failing her, and the wound on her shoulder had gone numb. The ground was suddenly under her and someone's hands were on her cheeks. It smelled like Malarkey. A finger traced her jaw and continued back behind her neck. It stayed on the back of her neck and gently lifted her head forward.

She heard Bill's voice telling soldiers to move, then Luz's voice broke through the fog.

"What happened?" he asked.

"She got shot, but said she could make it."

Malarkey.

"And you listened to her?"

Luz.

"You know she won't show weakness until she is dead!"

Luz again.

"It doesn't matter now. We have to get her to safety. Malark grab her."

Buck

"You got it."

The voice was closer this time. It was Malarkey and Adriana could feel his arms under her back and knees. She flinched and moaned when she was moved, but everything went black after that.

* * *

"Jesus what did you do to her Malark?" Luz asked seeing that Adriana was completely unconscious now.

"Nothing," Malarkey answered. "She is probably going into shock. Let's just get her back to-"

But his sentence was cut off by a mortar exploding behind them. It sent all of them flying forward. Somehow, Malarkey held onto Adriana and managed not to land on her. With help from Muck, he got back to his feet and follow the men out of the town. Eventually they reached the ditch along the road. Just as they jumped in, a stray bullet his Buck in the ass.

Malarkey turned to Luz and handed their small Lt off to him to help Buck. Luz was glad to have her in his arms. She had always been very small, but now that he was holding her, she seemed like a child. He pulled her closer to his chest and he thought he felt her stir against him.

Finally he reached the trucks and carried Adriana past Winters and Nix who didn't say anything but defiantly noticed. They glanced at one another then over their shoulders at her. Luz went to the first truck and got Hoobler's attention. He helped the radioman gently pull Adriana aboard then helped Luz aboard. Luz sat with his back against the cab of the truck and pulled Adriana into his lap.

"Where's Doc?" he asked the car.

"He is helping Van Kilmer," Hoob answered. "The MG got him."

"Then help me," Luz said starting to pull off Adriana's field jacket.

Hoob got on the ground with him along with Ramirez and Webster. The four of them got Adriana stable before the trucks made it to the field outside of Eindhoven, but as soon as they were there, Luz left Adriana in the capable hands of Hoob and went to find Doc Roe. After only a few minutes of wandering around the grassy field, he found Roe.

"Hey Doc! Bell is hurt. She is stable but we figured you should look her over."

"Yeah I'll come right away," he said following Luz.

They jogged back to the truck where Hoob still sat with her. Roe jumped up and peeled back the bandage that was beginning to bleed through.

"You boys did a pretty good job," he commented as he worked. "She needs to stay warm, so you boys better start digging a foxhole. I'll stay with her."

Hoob and Luz glanced at each other then hopped off the back of the truck. Luz grabbed Perconte to help them. It took the boys only fifteen minutes to dig a full sized foxhole and they came back to find Roe holding Adriana in his lap.

"Hole's dug Doc," Luz said. "How is she?"

"I think she will be fine," Roe said helping Luz pull her off the truck. "Come get me if anything goes wrong."

"Will do Doc," Luz answered.

He, Hoob and Perconte went back to their hole and slid in, Luz in the middle holding Adriana to his chest. Perconte and Hoob spread their blankets over the four of them and tucked it in around Adriana. Perconte let out a sigh and leaned back against the dirt wall.

"I don't like retreating," he said.

"I don't like the damn replacements getting Toccoa men like Bull missing," Hoob said.

"I don't like seeing Bell like this," Luz said tightening his grip on her hand.

Perconte and Hoob looked at Luz, who had his gaze trained on the woman in his arms.

"She's gonna be alright Luz," Hoob assured his friend.

"Yeah," was all he said. "Night boys."

Perconte and Hoob took that to mean he didn't want to talk about it anymore so they didn't, and Luz was left in his own thoughts. He began lightly tracing his fingers up and down Adriana's arm praying she would come back to him. To all of them, but mostly him. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Adriana's forehead then placed his lips to her ear.

"Please come back Bell. We need you."

He rethought the last statement.

"I need you."

**_Ok Remember to REVIEW! Thanks guys!_**


	20. Demoted?

**_Hey guys! Yay for fast updats right? Here you go!_**

Adriana was completely unconscious for the night, and she woke up to sounds of joyful shouts. She stirred and moaned. A gentle hand cupped her face and a soft voice was in her ear.

"Bell? Hey you with us?"

"Yeah I'm with yah," she said trying and failing to sit up.

Someone was holding her down and she had a pretty good Idea who it was.

"Luz would you please let me up," she asked finally able to open her eyes.

She looked at her surroundings, while still struggling to sit up. She was in a foxhole in Luz's lap. Finally she relaxed into his hold and realized how tired she was. She let her head fall back against his neck while she caught her breath.

"You alright?" he asked quietly in her ear.

"Yeah I will be. Did you hold me like this all night?" she asked.

She felt him nod.

"Hoob was here for a little while, but he went to find Bull with Web, Cobb, Hershey and Ramirez. From the sound of things, they were successful."

"He is alright?" Adriana asked sitting up and looking at him.

"Sounds like," Luz said smiling at her.

"Good. I was worried," she said as she leaned back against him. "I was with Martin when Bull went down in front of a tank. We thought he was done for."

She got up again.

"Let's go see him."

"I don't know, Bell. You are still weak."

"Nonsense. I'm fine," she argued and stood.

She was a little wobbly at first, but she managed to scale the steep walls rather easily. She turned and offered hand to Luz, who shook his head and pulled himself out. They jogged to a small crowd that they assumed Bull was in the middle of. Guarnere was in the middle of shaking Bull's hand and telling him how he always knew he was ok.

"I never did like this Company none," Bull said with a smile on his face.

Adriana and Luz came up behind him.

"So that tank didn't get yah?" she asked giving him a one armed embrace.

"It'll take more than one British tank to get me," he answered. "You, on the other hand, seem to have collected a German bullet."

"Yeah, I'll be alright."

"Good," Bull said smiling. "We wouldn't want you out of commission for too long now."

"Rosie, didn't I tell you not to get hurt?" Guarnere asked, pretending to be angry with her but giving her a genuine hug.

"Sorry Bill. I just couldn't help myself. Having hot led rip through my shoulder is just such a rush!"

Guarnere chuckled and put his elbow out for her to link her arm through. She did and they continued walking until Lipton could be heard up on the road.

"Alright boys mount up. Let's move out!"

Adriana, Bill, Bull and Martin turned to the men.

"First Platoon, grab your gear, let's go!" Bill shouted.

"Second Platoon, same goes for you!" Adriana yelled.

"Second squad fall in now!" Bull shouted. "Cobb move it! Dukeman, let's go!"

Adriana began trudging up the hill when she caught a flash of red hair up ahead of her. She jogged forward and caught Malarkey by the arm. He swung around and smiled.

"Hey I didn't think you would be awake."

"Yeah well, I'm alright. Thanks to you," she added the last part with a smile.

"Aww come on Rosie. I didn't do nothin'."

"You carried me back Malark. I would still be lying there for the Germans if not for you."

"I only carried you halfway. Luz took over when Buck got shot."

"What the hell? Buck got shot?"

"Yeah," Malarkey said laughing. "Right in the ass. One bullet, four holes."

"Your shitting me," she said disbelievingly.

Malarkey shook his head.

"Not even a little. In one cheek, out, then in then out again."

Adriana burst into laughter.

"Oh I have got to find him and laugh at him," Adriana said still shaking from laughter.

"Trust me, the guys have been giving him hell," Malarkey assured her. "Anyway, I'll see you at the next stop Rosie."

"Yeah see yah Malark. And thanks!"

"Any time!"

Adriana smiled to herself as she caught the tailgate of a moving truck. Bull captured her hand and pulled her aboard. She seated herself beside Doc Roe and Luz. When Roe was done fixing Bull's shoulder he turned to check her wound. As he peeled the bandage back Adriana leaned against Luz's shoulder surprising him. He turned from his attention from his conversation with Perconte to the young woman on his arm.

"What's up Bell?" he asked.

"Tired," she mumbled.

"Go to sleep," he offered.

"Your shoulder is bony," she complained, her eyes still closed.

He let out a snort then lifted his arm so she could fall onto his chest.

"Better," she murmured nestling into his chest.

"Jesus what did you give her Doc?" Perconte asked seeing Adriana's odd behavior.

"He didn't give her nothin'," Luz said pushing Perconte.

"The dose of mofin' might have been too much for her," Roe suggested.

"Yeah that's it," Perconte said. "Her body is too little for one syrett."

"Shut up," Luz said shoving his friend. "Just let her be."

"Oh I'll let her be. Will you?" Perconte asked.

Luz glared at him and had it not been for Adriana now asleep on his chest he would have thrown his friend out of the truck. Instead he watched the billowing smoke from the town of Eindhoven. The town had been so alive and full of happiness only a few hours before, was now in ruins. Luz sighed, but there could be nothing done about it.

October 5th 1944

Adriana and the boys arrived in Holland and made themselves at home in a barn for the night. Hershey and the replacements had just come in and found themselves a pile of hay to sleep on. Luz was sitting with Winters and Adriana when Talb came over with his new dog. Luz was on the ground and the German Shepherd came over to him immediately and tried to eat his cracker. Luz patted the dogs head and pulled the cracker back. Adriana smacked him in the back of the head.

"Come here buddy," she said to the dog who trotted over and licked her face.

"This is a hell of a dog Talb," Luz said patting its backside.

"For once Luz is right," Adriana agreed.

"What did yah call it Talb?" Winters asked looking rather uninterested.

"Trigger," Talb answered.

"That's good. I like that. Trigger."

"Got anything on this?" Talb asked pointing to Luz's radio.

"Naw its all quiet," he answered, but before the words were even out of his mouth the door slammed open.

"We got penetration!"

It was Liebgott's voice.

"Its Alley, he's hurt!"

There was a rush of commotion while Winters cleared off the table and Liebgott carried his friend through the door. Adriana rushed to help in whatever way she could. As Liebgott laid Alley down, Adriana held his head.

"Hey there Alley. It's Adriana. How yah doin?"

"Where am I?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Boyle, get Doc Roe," Winters said as he looked over Alley's wounds. "Where was it?"

"Crossroads. Where the road crosses the dyke," Liebgott answered.

"If it wasn't for your loud mouth, they would never have known we were there," Lesniewski said.

"You know what back off," Liebgott growled turning to him.

"Lesniewski, find me Lt. Welsh," Winters ordered interrupting the argument that was sure to ensue. "Lipton assemble me a squad."

"Yes sir," he said. "First squad on your feet! Weapons and ammunition only! Let's move, let's go, let's go!"

By now Doc Roe had appeared and men were scrambling to get weapons and ammo together. Adriana placed a soft kiss on Alley's forehead before Roe took her place. She grabbed her rifle and ammo and followed Winters outside.

"Where do you think you're going?" Winters asked.

"I want to go with you sir," she said.

"You're not ready to fight," Winters said dismissively.

"Yes I am," she growled indignantly.

Winters frowned at her rude response but let it go.

"You are not one hundred percent yet and I will not have you getting killed or getting anyone else hurt. Stay."

"Sir please, I can't just sit here and do nothing while you are all out risking your lives for-"

"I said no Lt. That is an order," he barked.

"But sir-"

"Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear. Lt. Roosevelt?" he hissed venomously.

Adriana clenched her fists but said nothing.

"Good."

He turned on his heel and left. Adriana watched him and the rest of the men go glanced around then jumped in the back of the line. The men were moving quickly so Adriana went unnoticed by most. Liebgott gave her a small nod as he jogged by. No doubt he was wondering why she was in the back with him rather than in the front ready to give orders. If he was wondering he didn't ask and they made their way to the crossroads through the lower fields.

Ahead of her, Adriana could make out the silhouettes of Winters, Talb, Luz and Perconte. Lesniewski was further behind with Liebgott behind him. Martin was a few paces behind Luz. Adriana could feel the presence of Malarkey, Muck and Penkala behind her watching the rear when suddenly MG fire went off. They all hit the dirt, most of them on top of one another. Adriana was across Liebgott's feet and someone was on her back.

She looked to the front and could make out Talb running crouched over to Winters. If she listened closely, she could hear Talb conversing about MG-42s and why they were giving their position away. Then Winters took off up the hill and over. He disappeared from sight just as Luz turned and signaled that they were holding their position until they heard otherwise.

Adriana adjusted herself off Liebgott's boots and onto the more comfortable soil. She dug her elbows into the ground and waited for something to happen. The MG fire continued for a minute before Winters popped back over the hill. He signaled something she couldn't make out but luckily, Talb was close enough to see and he relayed the message. They were going over the hill. She stood and followed close behind the man in front of her as they dashed up the hill, dropped over then sat for a second on the other side, waiting to see if they had been seen. Then they darted across the open road, slid down the hill into the ditch and waited for Winters instruction.

Adriana watched the machine gunners set up just below the road then Winters began whispering hurriedly.

"This is our fallback position," he said pointing to a ditch that ran away from the road. "Mortars, deploy here. First squad on me. Go!"

Malarkey, Muck and Penkala ran up the ditch away from the road and got to a clearing where they began to set up the mortar. The rest of the men dashed in a straight line down the ditch that ran alongside the road. All Adriana could hear was the panting and labored breathing of the man in front and behind her. Her own breathing was not as loud in her own ears as was her men's. It had begun to rain when Winters held up a fist and they ducked in the ditch.

Winters ran up ahead of them and peaked over the edge of the road. More MG fire then Winters motioned for them up top. Adriana jumped to her feet and followed Talb up the hill. They dove into what looked like unfinished foxholes in the middle of the road. The hill on the other side gave them a little cover, but Adriana was surprised they hadn't been seen yet. Perhaps the rain was giving them some cover. She watched their machine gun set up then heard Winter's voice in her ear.

"Third on the right."

Adriana felt her heart jump when Winters' breath hit her face. He didn't seem to notice it was her. She didn't know how. He noticed everything. She followed her target as he moved across the road and back. He was laughing.

'Won't be laughing in a minute, you damn Kraut,' she thought.

Winters' shot rang out only a half a second before everyone else's. They were ready. All the Germans spun around, confused as to what was happening. It took some of the men a few try, but all the Germans fell eventually.

"Fall back," Winters ordered.

As soon as the order was out of his mouth, the rear machine gun opened up, and an American mortar hit the Germans. Adriana mentally thanked God for Muck, Malarkey and Penkala. They really never got enough credit. As the Americans slid back down the hill and into the trench, Adriana heard bullets flying over. She had to choose between running faster but being taller, or crouching and going slower. Seeing as Liebgott was choosing the first, she chose the first.

They got back to their fall back point with no injuries thankfully. Adriana dropped as far from Winters as she could. She was the last on the far end of the line of Easy men, but even over the gunfire and commotion she could still hear Winters' unmistakable voice. He was yelling for the rear machine gun to fall back to cover then running behind the men to get to Luz and the radio, yelling for suppressing fire.

Adriana couldn't see anything in the dark and rain, but she fired anyway. The German muzzle flashes were all that led her. She fired a few rounds when Winters ran behind her and dropped next to Luz who she hadn't noticed was only three men down the line from her. He was yelling into the radio.

"Harry, tell Roosevelt to bring up the balance of 1st platoon on the double."

Adriana froze while Winters was quiet.

"What do you mean she isn't there? Where the hell-" but his eyes had met hers.

There was a fire behind them she had never seen before, but he kept his composure.

"Never mind Harry, tell Peacock to do it, and do it fast! And I want another machine gun squad over!"

Adriana gulped but resumed firing just as Dukeman was shot through the chest and fell. She heard Luz curse about it. After three hours of fighting, the German's just seemed to stop. The Americans didn't know what to make of it, but it was finally morning, and the rain had stopped. Adriana was lying next to Liebgott trying to leach some of his warmth when Winters trudged over to her. He knelt before her and sent Liebgott away with a hard glare. Before he went, Liebgott gave her a reassuring pat on the back.

"Roosevelt didn't I give you a specific order to stay in the town?" he asked.

"You did sir," she answered, her face downcast.

"Why did you disobey a direct order from me, Lt?"

"I wanted to be part of the fighting sir."

"WHY did you disobey a direct order Lt. Roosevelt?"

"I'm sorry sir," she said.

She could feel tears stinging her eyes now. She had never seen anyone disobey Winters and now she was wondering what she had been thinking when she did so.

"Answer my question," he said sternly.

"Sir, I believe I know my limits better than you do. I am fully healed and I needed to be part of this fight," she said more confidently than she felt.

She finally looked up at him. His face was hard; his jaw tight, but his eyes were surprisingly soft. This gave her some sort of hope.

"I'm demoting you to Sergeant," he said glumly.

Adriana felt the sting deep in her heart, but knew it was what she deserved.

"Yes sir," she choked out.

Winters nodded and left her. She let out a shaky sigh and the tears began. She wasn't sure why she was crying. It was only a rank, but she felt like she had lost a small part of her. After all she had been a Lt. for almost all of her army career. She sniffed and wiped her eyes when a familiar hand was on her shoulder.

"You alright Rosie?" Liebgott asked kneeling next to her.

"Yeah. Winters demoted me," she sobbed.

"To what?" Liebgott asked putting an arm around her.

"Sergeant," she said finally able to control her tears.

"I'm sorry Rose," he said genuinely.

"It's alright. Not a big deal really. I deserved worse. First I argued with him, then disobeyed a direct order. I should be hanged."

Liebgott barked a laugh.

"We already got the Germans killing all our good men. Winters can't sacrifice our Adriana Roosevelt. Besides, I'm sure your daddy wouldn't like that now would he?"

Adriana smiled and shook her head as Talbert came down the line.

"Get into your squads. We are moving out."

Adriana wiped her face and followed Talb, giving Liebgott an affectionate kiss on the cheek before she went. She dropped down next to Perconte and Talb next to her. No one spoke, but all watched Winters.

"Go on the red smoke," he whispered.

He looked around at his men for a minute, mentally preparing himself. Adriana looked past him at Luz, who caught her gaze with his. If there was one moment Adriana wished she could be in his arms, it was right then. Being the Radioman, Luz got himself excluded from most dangerous situations so he could call for back up if need be. This was no different, but he wished more than ever that he could go into every battle alongside the woman he loved. He held her blue eyes for a long moment then mouthed "Be careful."

She smiled.

"Always am," she mouthed back.

He shook his head and half smiled as Winters tossed a red smoke grenade out onto the field. Immediately following the throw, Winters dashed out onto the field. Adriana, Perconte and a few others tried to follow, but Lt. Peacock stopped them.

"Wait for the signal."

Adriana cursed under her breath as they waited for the smoke. She was praying the grenade wasn't a dud, but after what seemed like years, the signal came. The men pulled themselves out of the ditch and charged after Winters, who was already three fourths of the way across the field. The red smoke was hiding him from view until they crossed it.

Once again, all Adriana could hear was the heaving of the men's breathing around her, and her own heart pounding in her ears. She had no idea what she and the men were facing over the hill, but the only thing she could think of was the fact that Winters was going to be dealing with it all alone if they couldn't get there to help him. That thought drove her faster.

Suddenly there was gunfire and Adriana looked up to see Winters reloading. In her mind's eye, she imagined him getting shot while he wasn't looking and falling backward down the hill. She imagined the boys running over him to get to their objective, but before she knew it, she was on the hill with him, shooting down on the Krauts.

There had to be two hundred of them at least. They looked like they were all sleeping. They were bunched together, making them an easy target for the men, and when they did try to fire back, they stood there in the open rather than trying to find cover. All the E company men were prone on the top of the hill. Each squad had a machine gun, and the mortars were covering from behind.

Adriana could hear Hoob keeping track of how many he had killed next to her. She smiled and began to count as well. She knew Hoob had never been as good at anything else as he was at killing so she figured she could make what he loved to do a game. He glared at her good naturedly.

Suddenly men down the line could be heard shouting curses.

"It's a whole nother company!"

"No shit!" was Liebgott's always smart ass answer.

Adriana turned her rifle on the crest of the hill where more Germans were pouring in.

"LUZ! Get up here!" Winters shouted behind him.

Luz instantly dashed from the cover of the trench to where Winters was behind the hill. When he finally got there, Winters grabbed the receiver to call in back up. Luz winked at Adriana before he began firing on the Germans.

"Easy Beaver to Easy Minor!" he shouted. "Re-enforce Easy and phase line yellow, pulse one, strike three, concentration Charlie. Drop two hundred, left one hundred."

He repeated this line three times before he turned his attention back to firing on the Germans. A few minutes later, the German line exploded. The Americans were dropping heavy duty bombs on the Germans. Adriana followed Winters and Luz up to the road where the bombing continued. The bombs were getting very close to Easy Company.

"Easy take cover!" Adriana shouted as she watched Boyle go down on the road from one of the bombs.

"Its German artillery!" Winters informed them. "Take cover! Someone get Boyle, he's down!"

Adriana dashed up the road and threw herself over Boyle to shield him from falling debris. Once the dust had settled a little she grabbed him by his field jacket and struggled to get him off the road. She felt him suddenly get lighter and turned to see Roe helping her. They landed in a heap at the bottom of the hill, where Roe threw himself over Adriana. She yelped because of her shoulder wound, but she didn't think anyone heard her. That she was glad of.

After a few more barrages, and a lot more shooting, the German's were all dead or prisoners. Adriana once again marveled at the fact that they had made it through another battle, with only a few minor wounds and only one casualty. It was, in fact a miracle.

**_Remember to Review!_**


	21. Entering Bastogne

**_Hey another update! So as always I own nothing; only Adriana! Hope you love it!_**

December 10th 1044

Since the crossroads, many things had happened in Easy Company. Winters had been promoted right after the battle at the crossroads, and Moose Heyliger had taken his spot as CO of Easy. Only a few weeks into the job however, Moose had been shot by a jumpy private and was taken out of commission. He was alive, but it was going to be a long recovery for him. Bill Guarnere had hurt himself in a motorcycle accident and had been taken to the hospital, and there was a new CO. Lt. Dyke. He, along with sixty five percent of Easy was now replacements. The only thing that seemed to be holding Easy together was the Toccoa men. And woman.

Adriana hated the things that were happening as much as anyone. The replacements were annoying as hell, and she knew Lt Dyke was going to end up getting everyone killed. The only good thing was that Bill was finally back. The day that he got back, Winters left for forty eight hours in Paris. Bill walked into the barracks only to be assaulted by Adriana and her small fists.

"Bill Guarnere what did I tell you about joy riding? It was going to get your sorry ass killed! That is what I told you but did you listen to me? No! You never listen!"

"Whoa, whoa calm down Rosie. I ain't dead. It was just a little scratch, that's all," Bill said capturing her hands.

"A SCRATCH? Bill Guarnere, you broke your leg in several places! That is NOT a scratch!" she yelled wrenching away from him and panting slightly.

The men in the room were staring wide eyed at her. They glanced around at each other, then burst into laughter.

"Don't laugh at me!" she shouted rounding on whoever was closest to her.

It happened to Malarkey.

"Adriana, he is fine. Look at him," Malarkey said grabbing her arms and turning her to face Bill.

He smiled the widest grin he could muster. Adriana finally sighed and threw her arms around Bill.

"I'm just glad your back," she said.

"Yeah it sure looked like it when I walked in," Bill said good-naturedly.

"Don't push you luck Bill," she said stiffly.

"I'm glad to be back Rosie," he finally relented. "And I bring information from the outside world!"

He pushed Adriana back so he could look at her.

"Your daddy got re-elected on November 7th."

"Holy shit I totally forgot about the election!" Adriana shouted. "My father got elected?"

"Yeah he did Rosie!"

"I've got to write to him!"

"Maybe you should read what he has to say first," Bill said pulling a letter out of his jacket pocket.

"He wrote me a letter? Let me have it!" she said excitedly snatching it from his hand.

"Read it to us," Lipton suggested

Adriana opened the letter with shaking hands. She smiled at her father's wonderful script writing.

"My dear daughter," she began. "I am writing to you because today I got re-elected as President of the United States. It is a big job, but you have a bigger one Adriana. I pray for you and your boys every day. Your mother and I keep tabs on the casualty lists and injured lists. I was surprised to see a lot of the men I met, have been on the injured lists. In fact, I saw one Bill Guarnere got hurt on a motorcycle? I can't imagine how driving a motorcycle into battle is a good idea, but I'm sure he only does things that benefit himself and his comrades."

At that, the boys hooted and laughed while Guarnere shook his head. Adriana smiled and continued.

"I read about Market Garden and how horribly that went. I'm sorry about how many men you lost darling, but there is a first for everything, including retreating. Hopefully it is the last. I wish I could write more, but I look forward to a letter from you. Also my daughter I should warn you. There is a journalist that wants to interview you. If she ever finds you with all the moving you and the boys do, please be nice. I love you darling, and I miss you. Please be safe. Love your father."

Adriana smiled and held the letter to her chest.

"I miss you father," she whispered then looked up at her boys. "I'll see you boys later."

She left the room and Bill shut the door after her then turned to the rest of the men.

"Now uhh boys listen up. I didn't tell Rosie that her daddy visited me personally and gave me that letter, and this letter."

He pulled another letter out of his jacket and began to read.

"Men of Easy Company, I want to start off by thanking you for taking care of my daughter as much as you have. I have heard of how much Eugene Roe has done taking care of her few injuries. To him, I say thank you so much."

Guarnere stopped and looked up at Roe, who was in the back counting his supplies. He gave Bill a small smile. Guarnere continued.  
"Bill Guarnere. I have heard much about you from Adriana. She says many things about you and how much you care for her as one of her brothers would. I hear about Malarkey, Muck and Penkala as one. She loves watching you three work together so well when you are shooting mortars at the enemy."

The three smiled and elbowed one another.

"Hoobler is another I hear a lot of. Adri says he is one of the youngest, yet he is the best at fighting. She says he likes to count how many he has killed in a battle. She says he is very good at killing. To him I say, be careful boy. Killing takes a lot out of the one doing the killing. If you're not careful it will take your soul."

Bill looked up at Hoob. He was nodding.

"She talks of Liebgott and his grace in battle and fierce hate for the Germans. She says he has one of the kindest and tender hearts, you just have to peel away the layers to reach it."

At this comment there were snickers from some of the boys. Liebgott promptly threw things at them as if to say, 'tender heart my ass.' Bill continued.

"Perconte is another she talks about in great detail. She often refers to him as her 'pocket Italian.' A term I'm sure he loves. She says he is little in stature, but giant in spirit. He has a great love for his brothers, and he would do anything for them, while at the same time keeping a light atmosphere within the group."

When Bill looked up, Perconte was positively beaming.

"Shifty is another name that has come up often. She says she loves him."

Everyone was surprised that was all that was written about the sharpshooter, but he understood and was smiling.

"She talks of Buck Compton. Not a Toccoa man, but just as good. She tells me that she can pick out his voice in battle, no matter how far apart they are. He taught her how to play Blackjack and Poker, and how to cheat at darts."

Buck was rubbing his forehead but he was laughing.

"Adriana has told me many times that the NCOs are the best anyone has ever known. Bull Randlman, the boy from the south, yet somehow the smartest man in the company. She says whenever he speaks, which is rare, he commands authority and everyone has no choice but to listen to him. She tells me that he is never without his cigar."

Bull said nothing but continued to chew on the end of the rather large cancer stick.

"Carwood Lipton, or Mama Lip as she says. He watches out for the men just as their mothers would, and cares about them more than their mothers. He has always been the one to coral the unruly Easy Company boys. She says they seem to listen to him more than Captain Winters sometimes."

Lip was shaking his head at the compliment, but smiling.

"The first man I was told about was Talbert. She says she has a very soft spot in her heart for this man. She never told me why, but I assume it's because he was the first man she almost died with. I can only imagine what jumping into Normandy felt like, but to Talbert, I say thank you for your selflessness when trying to save my daughter."

Talb leaned against his bunk and patted his dog between the ears, remembering when he thought he had lost their little Lt.

"And finally I write about George Luz. You young man, are very lucky."

Everyone glanced at Luz who was unsure of what the President meant by that. He didn't want to assume anything, but he knew what he was hoping that meant.

"Adriana has written about all of you in detail, and now I leave you with this. Take care of each other and my daughter. I pray for all of you daily. Keep each other close in these hard times, and you will not fail. Your country is forever grateful, and so am I."

Everyone was quiet for a long moment as the President's words sunk in.

"Well boys, now that we know what the president thinks of us, we have a lot to live up to," Lipton said standing and walking to the door. "So let's live up to it."

* * *

Later that night most of the Easy company boys were gathered watching some movie Adriana had seen hundreds of times, but there was nothing else to do so that is where she found herself. She was behind Toye and Lip sitting with Luz. Luz was doing his normal obnoxious impressions and it seemed to be getting under everyone's skin.

"Look at me, I'm John Wayne. The costume department set me up with these navy whites. What do you think?"

"Luz shut up," Toye hissed.

"I'm trying to watch this," Lipton growled showing a rare side of himself.

"Look I've seen this movie thirteen times already."

"Well they haven't Luz, now hush," Adriana said elbowing him.

Before he had a chance to answer, Malarkey could be heard behind them.

"Hey Skip! Where you been I been looking all over for you!"

"Well Don I was at home in Tonawanda, then Hitler started this whole thing, and now I'm here," he said getting a chuckle from Perconte. "How did you make out in craps?"

"Not so bad," Malarkey answered handing money across Perconte to him. "Here is the sixty bucks I owe yah."

"You're paying me back?" Muck asked. "Surprising."

"And to say thank you, a tip!" Malarkey handed another handful of money to Muck.

"Jesus!" Perconte shouted making Toye and Lipton turn angrily.

"I was up six grand, but I only have thirty six hundred left," Malarkey explained.

Adriana stopped listening to anything but the movie, not because the movie was interesting, but because she longed for some quiet. That was not to be however. The lights flipped on followed by angry protests by the men.

"Quiet!" the officer shouted. "Elements of the first SS panzer division have broken through in the Ardenas forest."

Everyone sighed and rolled their eyes.

"Now they have over run the twenty eighth infantry and elements of the fourth. All officers report to your respective HQs. All passes are revoked."

The last comment was met with angry shouts, the loudest of which was Malarkey. There was much grumbling as the boys exited. Adriana stopped and watched as Buck didn't move until everyone was gone. She shook her head and prayed he would be alright and she left the tent.

* * *

Later that night Easy Company was stuffed into trucks, all of them freezing their asses off. Adriana was on the floor of the last truck with her men. She was sitting, huddled between Luz's knees with Muck leaning against her shoulder. She put her chin on Luz's knee in attempt to stop her teeth from chattering. Luz smiled and put his hand on the back of her head.

"Christ I miss those C-47s," Guarnere said stuffing his hands into his armpits.

"Yeah we got a tailgate jump here," Talb said miserably.

"I just want to know where they are sendin' us and what the hell we are supposed to do with no ammo," Babe hissed letting out a sigh.

"Hey kid, what's your name again?" Guarnere asked the replacement in their midst.

"Suerth. Suerth Jr," he said as he lit a cigarette for Popeye.

"You got any ammo Jr?" Babe asked.

"Only what I'm carrying," he answered.

"What about socks Jr? You got socks?" Toye asked from between Guarnere and Babe.

"A pair," he answered confused.

"You need four minimum," Muck said sternly. "Feet, hands, neck, balls,"

"Extra socks warms them all," everyone finished.

"Yay! We all remember that one!" Muck said excitedly elbowing.

"But did you remember the socks?" Adriana asked with a smile.

"Ammo and some socks. That's all you need," Muck said.

"I bet Jr has a lot of both, don't yah Jr?" Guarnere asked.

"How bout a hat? You got a hat?" Toye asked.

"What about a coat?" Liebgott asked.

The kid shook his head.

"How bout some smokes then?" Adriana asked.

"Yeah I got some smokes!" Jr said happy to be able to give them something.

There was a chorus of 'well hand em' over' and 'lets have em's as Jr handed them out. Adriana grabbed one quickly and lit it. She took a drag and handed it up to Luz. He took it, grateful for something to do to take his mind off of the snow and frigid temperatures. After a few minutes more of driving, trucks could be heard stopping and men talking. Eventually, their truck stopped and they filed off.

"Alright guys, fifteen minutes, smoke em' if you got em'," Buck said.

"Where the hell are we?" Penkala asked as he jumped from the truck.

"Sure we aint in hell. It's too damn cold," Muck said getting a chuckle from Adriana.

As they walked Adriana became very desensitized to the sight of men peeing. It was literally all around her. She wasn't sure what she should be doing now that she was no longer a Lt. She knew her Lt duties, but was now lost, so she smoked, froze and tried to keep everyone's moral up. Luz had left her to find Welsh, so Adriana was huddled against the side of a truck with Babe. She had just taken a drag off his cigarette when a man with a eighty percent of his face bandaged walked by.

"Jesus Christ," Babe breathed.

They both spun on the spot and saw hundreds of guys coming from the direction Easy was headed.

"Hey Bill, Don, come here look at this," Babe said getting the boys from the other side of the truck where they were relieving themselves.

"What the hell is going on?" Malarkey asked perplexed.

"Hey your goin' the wrong way!" Guarnere yelled at them, but none of them were paying attention. "Hey pal, what happened, what the hell's goin' on?"

"They came out of nowhere. They slaughtered us," he said. "You gotta get out of here."

His ghostly appearance frightened Adriana.

"We just got here," Babe protested.

"Hey give me your ammo," Guarnere said grabbing it from him.

"Take it," he said glumly. "You're going to need it."

The four of them stared after the man, then Adriana snapped out of it.

"Get all the ammo you can boys!" Adriana yelled behind her.

She shoved Guarnere and Babe forward to stop the men retreating with ammo while she ducked behind her and began pushing men forward.

"Stop these guys and get ammo boys!" she yelled to whoever would listen. "Hey you got grenades?"

The young man she had asked stopped and handed her everything he had.

"Thanks buddy," she said heaving the ammo over her shoulder.

She got as much as she could carry then took it back to the Easy company men who didn't get very much. As she was running around, she almost got run over by a jeep. She glared at the driver until she realized he was carrying extra ammunition. She jogged up as Muck was asking the Lt. about mortar rounds.

"I'll try to make another ammo run, but don't count on anything," he said.

He jumped back in the jeep then looked at Winters.

"Panzer division is about to cut the road south. Looks like you boys will be surrounded."

"We are Paratroopers Lt. we are supposed to be surrounded," Adriana said smiling.

"Well good luck anyway," he said.

He drove away and Adriana smiled. Buck's voice cut through the chilly night air.

"Alright boys! Let's move!"

Adriana went to the back of the truck where her boys were gathered getting ammunition. She grabbed a few more muset bags then looked for Luz. Before she spotted him she stood at the crossroad and looked at the men. Her men. She saw Guarnere first. He looked as antsy as ever. He was glancing around at his men. She could only guess what he was thinking, but it had to be something like 'damn this cold.'

She smiled to herself as she looked over the men. Liebgott caught her eye next. He was wearing his always stony expression, his dark eyes darting between the men around him. His eyes landed on her and he winked. She smiled.

Muck was sharing a smoke with Malarkey and Penkala. None of them were saying a word. Just enjoying the smoke in their lungs and the company of one another.

As Talb walked past her she noticed he had his arms wrapped around his rifle, hugging it to his chest. He was already a thin guy, but he didn't have any cold weather gear on top of that. Adriana could only imagine how cold he probably was. He looked miserable.

"Hey Talb!" she yelled after him.

He stopped and turned. Adriana ran past him and threw her scarf around his neck. She disappeared into the men before he had a chance to try and give it back to her.

She stopped at the crossroad sign and looked back for Luz. Instead she spied Toye. He was walking with purpose and a cigarette between his teeth.

Finally she spotted the radio antenna walking ahead of her. She recognized Perconte's small frame next to Luz. She threw one last look behind her and then jogged after Luz.

"Hey smart ass!" she shouted.

He turned almost angry until he saw her. His face brightened immediately.

"Heya Bell!" he said happily.

"Hi boys. You keeping warm?" she asked catching both their arms with hers.

"No," was Perconte's short answer.

"Aww its fun when its cold. We get to snuggle," she said smiling.

"Yeah great for Luz," Perconte said under his breath.

"What?" she asked not having heard him.

"I said sounds like fun," Perconte lied. "So where we headed?"

"I don't know. I'm just another enlisted man now remember?" Adriana said glumly.

"We are going to the forest of Bastogne," Buck said falling in step with them.

"Great," Perconte said, his bad mood persisting.

"Hey uh, Adri?" Buck said slowing down so Perconte and Luz were a few paces ahead of them.

"What's up Buck?" she asked.

"Winters didn't want to demote you yah know."

"I know Buck," Adriana said letting her gaze fall from his face. "It was my fault and-"

"No no that's not what I meant," he said quickly. "Grated, disobeying his direct order was probably not the smartest choice, but it wasn't you. He had to do something, but he wants you to be a Lt. Just keep doing what you're doing, and I can guarantee you, by the end of Bastogne, you will be back to Lt."

"Thanks Buck," she said nodding. "I'll keep doing whatever it is that I am doing."

He half smiled and before she could ask how he was, he was gone. Adriana sighed and re-joined Luz.

"Where is Perco?" she asked.

"Ran off to beg a smoke from Muck," Luz said.

"He could have just asked me," she said pulling one out from behind her ear.

Luz grinned at her and held up a lighter. She put it in her mouth as fire erupted from the lighter. She felt the heat off the small flame on her nose as she inhaled the smoke. She held it there for a long time while Luz took a drag. Finally she exhaled and looked up at her friend.

"How many of us do you think will make it out of Bastogne?" she asked.

"All the Toccoa men," Luz said taking another drag.

"Really."

This brought a sigh from Luz.

"I honestly don't know."

"I don't want to think about it," Adriana said taking the smoke from him.

"Then don't," he said offering her his arm.

She looped her arm around his and sighed. Luz looked down at her out of the corner of his eye. Her cheeks were flushed, lips chapped and nose pink. Her hair was long and haphazardly tied into a bun below her helmet. He could see her whole body shaking from cold and when she brought the cigarette up to her lips, it was trembling so violently that she had a hard time getting it in her mouth. He watched her ash it then hand it back to him. He took it, put it in his mouth, un-looped his arm from hers and slid it around her shoulders. He took the smoke out of his mouth as he drew her close so he could press his lips against her temple. She didn't protest, only rested heavily against his side. He didn't mind. Maybe it was going to take less coaxing that Perconte had originally thought to get her to love him back.

_**Alright guys so REVIEW!**_


	22. Too Damn Cold for Hell

**_New Update!_**

**_Ok so I know its short, but I'm leaving on a trip on Sunday and I have to pack, so I busted this out and probably won't be writing anymore until the 15th. But have no fear, I will be reading if you update! Love you all_**

**_I own nothing but Adriana Roosevelt_**

Dec 21, 1944

Easy company had been holding the line in the forest of Bastogne for three days and already the weather was taking a toll on them. Adriana had been fairing well compared to some of the men. For one reason or another, she wasn't as affected by the cold as some. This was something she was glad of. Night time was the hardest for her. It was hard enough to see in the daylight, but at night, every snow covered log or bush looked like a German sneaking up on them.

Adriana had just taken her dinner back to her foxhole shared with Luz and Perconte. When she got there, they were nowhere to be found so she sat and had her meal that smelled like 'Malarkey's armpits' as Muck had said. She smiled to herself at the thought of her boys still able to laugh and joke in such a terrifying atmosphere. She leaned against the side of the foxhole and smiled up at the sky, or rather the clouds covering the sky. It was quite peaceful when the Germans weren't exploding the trees above them or raining machine gun fire. As if he knew she was in the middle of a peaceful moment, Perconte slid into the hole.

"Hey there!" he said as if he didn't know she had been there.

"Hey Perco," she said with a sigh as he began brushing his teeth. "Perconte you keep brushin' those teeth, the Germans will see you a mile away and shoot you dead."

"Yeah yeah," Perconte said.

He was used to people making fun of his habit. Just then, Doc dropped in on them. He greeted Adriana with a quick smile before he reached over her and grabbed Perconte's bag. He seemed to be on a mission, and indeed he was. He emptied the contents of the bag onto the snow and rummaged around, much to the chagrin of Perconte.

"Aww come on Doc! What are you looking for?" he asked.

"Sizzuhs," he responded. "Thank you Perconte."

"He took my God damn scissors," Perconte complained.

Adriana smiled and hopped out of the hole to follow Roe. He was still on a mission so she didn't say anything only followed close behind him. She was feeling particularly adventurous that evening. They jogged by Bill who yelled for Doc, but was ignored. He dropped next to a foxhole.

"Hey boys, pickin' up syretts. Alley, Liebgott, you got any?"

"No sorry Doc, got used in Holland," Liebgott answered so Roe turned to Alley.

"You aint using this stuff are you? For personal reasons?" Alley asked as he handed over his.

Roe smiled but jogged away. After a few more trips to different foxholes, and an encounter with Guarnere, Roe was back at his foxhole and Adriana jumped in with him.

"So how the hell are yah Doc?" she asked.

"I'm doing just fine," he said, a small smile gracing his lips. "And you?"

"So far, I'm fine, but it's only been three days," she said.

"Yeah well make sure you stay warm a'right?" he said.

"You too," she warned.

He nodded and she jumped out of his foxhole and made her way back to hers. When she arrived, Luz was there, laughing as Perconte complained and put away his things that were strewn about the snow. Luz looked up to the sound of crunching snow and smiled.

"Heya Bell! Care to join us in this wonderfully warm hole in the ground?"

"HA warm!" Perconte scoffed. "It's colder than the damn arctic here."

"When did you visit the arctic?" Adriana asked slipping in between them.

Perconte only rolled his eyes and continued stuffing items back into his bag, muttering swear words the whole time. Adriana and Luz laughed at him, only making him fume. Luz pulled the blanket up so Adriana could slide in next to him and they could share warmth.

After being demoted, Luz had taken up most of her mind space. Because she was only a non-com now, she was letting herself think about what could happen if Luz felt the same way about her as she felt about him. From the time she became a Lieutenant, she had restricted her mind to only think about her boys as brothers, but now that she was looking back, Luz had always been more than that.

She glanced up at Luz, who was still laughing at his friend. He seemed to sense her gaze and looked down. She let a smile slide across her face as she snuggled further down beneath the blanket. Luz grinned and pulled her into his chest, feeling the new warmth against him.

He had been thinking a lot as well, but it was not something new. He had always thought about Adriana, and wished she would think about him in the same way. He could almost sense the change in her since she had become a Sergeant. The way she acted toward him had changed, and he liked it. He was praying she wouldn't revert back to the way she was before when she became a Lt. again. For now he was just enjoying the feeling of her warmth.

Perconte was still grumbling, but now he seemed to be more concentrated on the fact that he was cold and they were snuggly.

"Come on Perco," Luz said lifting the blanket. "There is enough room in here for you."

Perconte raised a skeptical eyebrow, but finally joined them. Adriana huddled down and pulled them closer. There they spent the fridged night, her arm through Perconte's and using Luz as a backrest. Adriana and Perconte were out as soon as he was under the blanket, but Luz found it impossible to sleep. Adriana was in his arms. It was what he had wished for since he had seen her, and now that it was happening, he couldn't fall askeep because this might all be a dream. Finally though, just before dawn, he put his chin on her head and fell asleep. Not long after that, they were awakened by Martin shouting about a patrole.

"Perconte, Luz, Roosevelt, get up! Your coming too!"

The three jolted from sleep at their names.

"Get you gear! Lets move!" Bull could be heard shouting further up.

The three grabbed their rifles and jogged after Martin.

"What's going on?" Adriana asked him when they got to the thirty or so men preparing to leave.

"Kraut hunting mission," Martin replied.

Adriana sighed and looked around. It suddenly registered who was missing.

"Shouldn't Dyke be with us?" she asked.

"What do we want him for?" Babe asked. "Foxhole Norman would get us killed anyway."

He elbowed his new replacement friend, Julian, in the ribs.

"Damn idiot couldn't find a snowball in a blizzard," Luz hissed.

It was clear he didn't like being woken so early, and it was even worse when he was forced to go on patrol. Adriana jogged to him and quickly kissed him on the cheek, then joined Babe and Julian ahead. She looked over her shoulder at him and winked. His face was one of surprise if she had ever seen any. She turned back to Babe laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Luz," Adriana said, still giggling.

Babe rolled his eyes. They crunched through the snow for ten minutes in silence. It gave Adriana a chance to enjoy the quiet. Besides the boots on the snow and the occasional mortar in the distance, there was nothing. No birds. It was too damn cold for them. No men talking or laughing. Only perfect silence. Adriana took a deep breath, smelling the freshly fallen snow and the hint of gunpowder. She opened her eyes and noticed the beauty in the white trees, and the falling snow. As she was musing about how every snowflake was different, Julian got called up to Martin.

"Making him lead scout already? You must be a good teacher, Babe," Adriana said with a grin.

"Ehh the kid was made for fighting. Just like you Rosie," he said nudging her with his elbow.

She smiled but before she could answer, Bull held up a fist. Everyone dropped to one knee and trained their eyes on the pile of wood Martin and Julian were behind. Adriana backed behind a tree with Babe and they watched Martin send Julian across the road. The young replacement stood and darted into the open when gunfire immediately rang out. To Adriana's horror, Julian stopped and turned back to Martin for direction. She knew instantly that it was the wrong move. His body went ridged and he fell, holding his neck.

"Bull, Christenson, up on line!" came Martin's voice. "We got a man down!"

Babe was running before Martin even opened his mouth, with Adriana right on his tail.

"Julian!" Babe shouted as he skidded to a stop behind a tree.

He reached for his friend who was now spouting blood from a giant hole where his windpipe should have been.

"We've got to do something!" Bull yelled to Martin who was firing blindly around the woodpile.

"I can get him sarge!" Babe said frantically.

Martin glanced around meeting Adriana's eyes.

"Covering fire!" he finally yelled nodding at Babe.

Adriana watched him take a steadying breath, then begin to move out to his friend, but gunfire stopped him before he even moved an inch.

"Stay down! Don't move!" Babe yelled to Julian who was writhing and reaching for them. "Stop moving!

"Pull back! We have to pull back!" said Christenson, who's machine gun position was getting hammered.

Martin looked back at him, then between Babe and Julian.

"There is a six foot gap between us and the kid!" Adriana shouted to Martin. "I don't think we can get him!"

Martin looked at Adriana, his eyes breaking her heart, then he nodded.

"Pull back! Go, go" he ordered.

"Stay with us! Julian! Stay with us! Look at me! Hold on, we are coming back!" Babe screamed frantically at Julian, who was fading fast.

He seemed to be trying to stem the flow of blood, but the wound was just too big. He was slowly choking on his own blood. Adriana watched him cough up blood a few more seconds, then could take no more. She grabbed Babe's shoulder's and wrenched him away from the heartbreaking scene. To her surprise, he went easily.

Adriana and Babe were running full out, but they really didn't know where they were going until they heard Bull.

"Straight ahead, straight ahead" he shouted to Muck's question of 'where the hell are we?'

There were suddenly a volley of bullets, and another man went down in front of Adriana. She tripped over him and was caught by Luz. He stood her on her feet, then helped Roe begin to fix him up. Adriana got on his radio and called for a jeep, then ducked behind a tree close to Martin. The men stayed to guard Roe, Luz and the wounded man against German attack until Nixon showed up.

"Martin what's going on?" Nixon yelled from behind Roe.

"They got Julian" Martin answered.

"He is still alive!" Babe shouted turning to them.

"We don't know that," Martin yelled angrily.

"We've got to go get him sir!" Babe yelled refusing to be told no.

"No fall back," Nixon ordered. "Martin fall back! Get them out of here!"

"You heard him! Let's go!" Martin yelled, mostly at Babe.

He was not happy, but he followed Martin anyway. Later that day, the men were gathered around eating their lunch. No one was talking much about anything. Adriana was between Babe and Malarkey. She kept glancing at Babe to see if he was alright. He had been really upset about leaving Julian behind, and Adriana assumed he would continue to be upset. It was hard watching your friends die in your arms, but poor Julian died freezing and alone, watching his family leave him. Leaving was something Babe had to deal with and work through, and Adriana knew it wouldn't be easy. She unhooked her arm from Malarkey's and scooted closer to Babe. She tentatively leaned against his arm. He didn't move away so she stayed there.

After being told what happened by Martin, Winters sat in the circle of quiet men, mourning Julian's death. As it got dark and cold, men began to drift back to their foxholes, always with an affectionate pat on the back as they walked by Babe. Adriana watched him and noticed he didn't seem to react to anyone. Finally Adriana stood him up and walked him back to his foxhole. Once there she looked at him. It took a second but he met her gaze.

"Stay," was all he said.

It wasn't a question just a request. Adriana smiled.

"Of course I will."

They slid into the covered hole, instantly feeling the change in temperature. Adriana very much enjoyed the feeling whereas it didn't seem to affect Babe at all. She pulled a blanket around them and touched his hand. He didn't look at her but lifted his arm so she could lean against his chest. She smiled sadly, leaned against him and pulled the blanket around her chin.

"You know, I told him that if he got hit, I would get his stuff and bring it to his ma. Now the Krauts will fucking strip him," Babe croaked.

"It's ok," Adriana began looking up at him.

"No its not! It's not ok." Babe interrupted "I shoulda got to him."

Adriana shook her head, but she knew trying to rationalize with him would do no good. He was mourning so she sighed and offered her hand. He took it and held it against his chest. She could hear his heart racing, and once in a while a sob would escape him. Once she even felt a tear hit her cheek, but it didn't bother her. He needed her at that moment. Finally she drifted off to sleep.

Luz's mind was racing. He had seen her just a few hours ago and she was fine. He knew he was over thinking things, but when Adriana hadn't returned to the foxhole he had gotten worried. Now it was the middle of the night, and Luz couldn't sleep until he knew she was safe. He had been going from foxhole to foxhole asking anyone awake if they had seen her. Finally he got some help from Malarkey.

"Try Babe's hole. Last I saw she was walking him back. She might have stayed with him."

"Thanks Malark," Luz said jogging in the direction of Babe's hole.

His mind was moving faster now than it had. Why was she in Babe's hole? Did she like it more than his? Did she like _Babe_ more than him? His terrified thoughts took him to Babe's hole where he found Adriana asleep on Babe's chest and Babe staring off into the distance. He heard Luz come up but didn't turn his head.

"You're lucky you know," he said suddenly.

"Me?" Luz asked stupidly.

Babe turned and glared at him.

"No, the other idiot standing at the edge of my foxhole in the middle of the night. Yeah you."

Luz rubbed the back of his neck.

"Why?"

Babe looked down to the young woman breathing softly against his neck.

"You got her. You get to do this every night. You get to feel the warmth of the woman you love next to you in the middle of the fucking war. You're damn lucky."

"Yeah I know Babe. Keep her safe tonight alright?" Luz requested.

Babe nodded once and Luz left feeling guilty about his earlier thoughts. He jogged back to his foxhole, where Perconte was smoking.

"You find her?" he asked looking up.

Luz nodded.

"She is with Babe," he answered.

"Oh she getting tired of you already?" Perconte asked putting an elbow on one knee and holding out the smoke.

"No," Luz said taking the cigarette. "Babe just lost Julian on the patrol today. She is staying with him until he feels better."

"Uh hu," was Perconte's response.

"Go to sleep you idiot," Luz said pulling his blanket around his neck.

"Sweet dreams," Perconte said grinning at him.

Luz blindly threw a rock at him then fell asleep.

The next morning all the men awoke to the sun in their eyes and fighter planes going over. Adriana and Babe got out into the morning sun and followed the running paratroopers to the forest line. Everyone was whooping and shouting as planes flew over on their way to drop supplies into town. The men were waving and galloping around outside the trees when fighter planes came over shooting down on them. The mood suddenly changed. The men dove for the safety of the trees where they began firing on the planes. Adriana didn't know why they were firing on the Paratroopers, but she wasn't going to stand for it. She aimed her rifle, but Lipton stopped her.

"Cease fire! Cease fire god damn it!" Lipton bellowed.

"Why are they shooting at us?" Adriana asked relaying the message of cease fire to the men down the line.

"It's a drop!" Lipton yelled happily not answering her question.

He turned to her and pulled her into a hug, then led the men back to their holes with joyful shouts. Adriana spied Roe headed for a jeep going into town. She caught up to him and swung into the jeep behind him. He turned surprised to see her.

"Adriana what are you doing here?"

"Well I couldn't let you go into town alone now could I?" she asked happily. "Someone needed to carry the military supplies back."

She turned and immediately met Winters' gaze. His warm eyes were clouded with worry at first because she was sitting on the back where wounded people go, but when he realized she was alright, the corner of his mouth lifted. She nodded curtly as the jeep pulled away. Roe didn't miss the exchange.

"Have you talked to the Captain since he demoted you?" he asked.

Adriana drug her eyes up to meet Roe's. She shook her head miserably.

"He doesn't hate you yah know."

"I know," Adriana answered wringing her hands. "I just feel awful for being so stupid and disrespectful."

"He has forgiven you," Roe said. "We all have our screw ups."

Adriana barely had time to ponder this before the jeep bumped into town. Adriana smiled up at the falling packages drifting slowly to the ground under deployed canopies. She remembered well when she and her boys floated to the ground under deployed canopies. She missed those days. They seemed somehow easier. The battle she remembered most vividly was Brecourt. The only one who had gotten hurt in that battle was poor Popeye, and he was fine now. Well he was freezing his ass off in a foxhole, but he was as fine as anyone there.

The jeep stopped and Roe headed for the large church Adriana assumed was the hospital. She turned and found the closest supply box and ran to it. It was unopened. She tried and failed to open the box with her hands, but finally found a piece of wood to wedge under the lid and pry it open, but even then it was hard. Finally though, the wood splintered, and she felt like she had hit the jackpot. p>

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	23. Battle in the Woods

**Hey guys. So I took out the new guy that I added randomly last chapter because it was random and useless. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**I own nothing but Adriana!**

Two nights after the supply drop, Adriana was sitting on the edge of a hole on the line. She was leaning against the last tree before dead man's land when she head crunching behind her. She laid a hand on her rifle, but didn't sense danger. She could feel someone close by her shoulder.

"Sgt Roosevelt?"

Adriana jumped at the sound of the velvet voice, but she didn't turn.

"Sir," she answered.

Winters didn't say anything, only stood next to her until she looked up at him. She met his warm eyes.

"Sgt Roosevelt, do you think I have a problem with you?" he asked kneeling next to her.

"No sir," she responded averting her eyes.

"Then why won't you look me in the eyes?" he asked with a small grin.

"I'm just so sorry," she said, a tear falling from her eye.

Winters looked startled by the tears but he leaned closer.

"I won't deny it. You disobeying my order made me angry, but when I thought more about it, what you did was what I should have let you do in the first place."

Winters sighed as Adriana gave him a sideways glance.

"I'm sorry to say I underestimated you and what you could do because you were a woman. I am sorry. I thought I needed to protect you."

Adriana watched him curiously. His eyes were trained on the snow under him waiting for her to speak.

"It's alright sir," she said, her eyes softening and her hand moving to cover his.

He flinched at the touch but smiled at her. They both looked back up at the German line where the clouds were beginning to get pink.

"You better get back sir. I can already hear those tanks rolling in behind the Germans."

"Adriana."

She turned to face him, surprised at the use of her name. His blue eyes were bright as he spoke.

"I want to see you at the end of this. Safe and sound. That is an order."

Adriana smiled.

"Yes sir," she answered with a small salute.

Winters nodded then left her on the line. She watched him go until he disappeared into the fog. She then turned and waited until the sky was fully light. She could hear the men around her in their foxholes rustling around, waiting for the incoming Germans. She glanced around her watching her men quietly. She spied Roe in a foxhole toward the rear. His face was hard and determined, but she didn't miss the fear in his eyes. She thought about going to him, but she was so exhausted, she didn't think she would be much good to him. She leaned back against the tree and let her eyes slide shut for only a minute. She was shaken awake suddenly by Lipton.

"What the hell are you doing out of your hole?" he growled pushing her in and jumping in with her.

"Sorry sir, I only closed my eyes for a minute. I guess I was more tired than I thought."

"Well get some sleep once in a while will yah?" he asked flustered.

"Yeah maybe I'll think about it when we are done with this war," she said checking her rifle.

"Yeah be careful alright?" he implored her.

"Will do Lip," she said with a smile.

He jumped out of the hole and ran around shouting orders. Adriana was in the first hole on the line. She wasn't sure how she managed to draw that straw, but it was hers and she would defend the line until the last man or woman as the case may be. She took a deep breath and suddenly realized she was alone in her hole. She searched the sparse trees for the radio antenna and found it, but it was attached to Perconte. Adriana's brows knitted together, working out where the radioman was when someone jumped into the hole behind her. She started and turned to meet the golden brown eyes she was hoping to see.

She let out an audible sigh and he smiled.

"Been lookin' for someone?" he asked smugly.

"Yeah I wanted to see if Malarkey wanted to share a hole at the front," she said matching his attitude.

"Aww Bell, you don't want me in a hole with you?" he asked frowning.

She thought about it for a second but was interrupted by smoke billowing from the tanks coming through the trees. Adriana gulped and ducked lower pulling him with her.

"I guess you will have to do," she whispered, her eyes darting back and forth.

"Damn that line looks close," Luz commented tightening his grip on his rifle.

"Stay in your holes boys!" Lip yelled from somewhere behind them. "Keep low! Keep firing!"

"Watch yourselves!" Adriana shouted after Lip ran past. "Hold your fire! Don't let them draw you out!"

"Hold your fire!" she heard Perconte yell down the line.

Adriana heard Lip yell for the MGs to be ready when the first gunshot rang out immediately followed by the cry for a medic. Adriana and Luz jumped then looked back to see who was hit.

"Shit," Adriana cursed. "It's Smokey."

"Damn," Luz hissed.

Bombes instantly started dropping. Easy company returned with rifle fire and mortars.

"Here they come!" Adriana shouted back to anyone who would listen.

They aimed carefully at the white German uniforms that did little to hide them against the grey background. Adriana's rifle popped, signaling the end of her clip. She slid down into the hold followed quickly by Luz. As they worked to put their ammo in, they could hear more than, see the bullets whizzing overhead. The sound that Adriana heard most was the squish as the bullets hit a human being. Twice she almost lost her breakfast when the squish sound came four different times within two seconds.

Suddenly as she was forcing her clip into the rifle, a Springfield came out of nowhere. She had never used a sniper before, but she figured it wasn't much different than another weapon. She sat up and lined up the driver hole of the tank. She waited until she could see a man's head then she shot. The bullet ricocheted off the metal of the tank, so she took aim again. She let out a steadying breath and pulled the trigger. Ricochet again.

"Jesus Christ," she murmured as she lined up a third shot.

She had been aiming right at the target so she tried up and to the left. It worked. The bullet finally hit the tank driver, but instead of the giant machine coming to a halt, like she had expected, it sped up and turned to the right, running over a few dozen Germans and hitting a half track. She heard a few whoops from Easy Company, but they were quickly drowned out by mortars. With a smile she reached down to get her rifle and popped back up next to the radioman. She put down three Germans before she was suddenly in so much pain she couldn't function.

She fell back into the hole screaming. Luz was caught off guard and didn't even have time to look at her before a mortar hit the ground next to their hole. He threw himself over her wounded body as a tree fell on them. The only thing that saved them was the depth of the hole. The only problem was now Adriana was wounded and the tree was keeping Luz pinned on top of her. Luz heard someone yelling his and Adriana's names, but he figured it was no use for anyone to try to save them. If anyone even stuck their head above the edge of the hole, some German would make a few new holes in his skull. Instead he concentrated on Adriana who was screaming. After a little maneuvering, he managed to roll off her and lay next to her.

"Where are you hit?" he shouted.

No answer.

"Adriana! Where are you hit?"

This time his answer was a moan and her hand on her right hip. He moved her hand to find a bullet wound seeping blood.

"How the hell did you get hit there?" he yelled searching for his aid kit which he realized to late he had given to Roe.

"I drew a big damn target on it and waved a purple flag," she growled, pain lacing each word.

"Shit," Luz cursed as he pressed a hand to her hip.

She let out a snarl in response.

"Oh grow a pair," he muttered as he worked.

He ripped the bullet hole in her uniform bigger so he could see the wound. He heard her sharp intake of breath, but continued trying to stem the bleeding. Finally after trying and failing to stop it with his hand, he pulled off his field jacket, button up army green and white shirt. Adriana felt his hand leave her hip so she opened her eyes and frowned at him.

"Really Luz? I don't think now is the time," she said panting slightly.

"Smart ass," he said not finding the joke funny.

"Geeze lighten up," she said. "You're acting like I've been shot."

He turned, intending to be angry at her, but he found it impossible. The shadow of a smile on her face made him laugh.

"You, Adriana Roosevelt, are one of a kind."

She shrugged as he pressed his previously white shirt to her wound. She cringed and wadded up Luz's field jacket in both hands. He pulled the shirt away and tentatively felt the wound. Adriana watched his jaw clench.

"What?" she asked. "What is it?"

"The bullet is in there," Luz answered. "I don't know if I can get it."

"It's in the bone?" she asked.

Luz nodded, his usually bright eyes, shadowed. Before she could say anything, Luz was trying to push the fallen tree off of them. It was doing no good. It was a full grown pine tree Adriana guessed weighed more than Luz could ever hope to lift.

"Luz what are you doing?"

"What… does… it… look… like… I'm… doing?" he panted

"Don't waste your energy," Adriana advised.

"Then what should I do?" he asked frantically. "This is bad Bell. That bullet is stuck in your bone and we need Roe to get it out. I can't just sit around and do nothing so please tell me. What should I do?"

"Keep me warm," she answered calmly.

He looked at her dumfounded for a few seconds before he shook his head and sat next to her.

"Why are you so calm?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"There is nothing you or I can do by worrying, so we may as well make the best of it."

He shook his head and shivered.

"Put your field jacket back on," she suggested.

"Body heat travels better if its skin on skin," he informed her looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

She glanced up at him, the response of 'oh hell no' in her eyes, but he could see her shivering. After a second she nodded.

"Your right. Help me."

Luz was taken slightly off guard but helped her sit up and pull her field jacket and button down army green off. As he helped her slide her arm out of the heavy uniform he forced himself to avert his eyes from her chest. He wasn't sure if she was wearing undergarments, but he wasn't going to find out unless she told him. Adriana noticed but was too cold to laugh at him. She hurriedly pulled off the white shirt and threw herself against his waiting chest. He was surprised but glad of the new warmth.A shiver of happiness ran through her the minute her skin touched his.

Since this wasn't their original foxhole, they didn't have all their extra gear. What Luz was missing the most was their heavy army blankets. For now they would have to make do with their discarded clothing besides Luz's t-shirt that was still being held on the wound.

Maneuvering carefully so as not to hurt her, Luz pulled her into his lap so she wouldn't touch the freezing ground. She instantly curled against his broad chest. He looked down at her, smiled and exhaled. He still didn't know if there was anything separating their chests, but he didn't care. He knew any man in this situation should jump at the chance, but he didn't want to based solely on the fact that he didn't want to do anything that would hinder his chances with her further down the road.

The feelling of Luz's exposed skin pressing against her chest sent shock waves and butterflies through her entire body. When he brought his long arms around her back and pulled the field jacket up around her she about died. She tried to tell herself many times to stop, but she couldn't stop the feelings he gave her. It seemed to be the only thing she could concentrate on, despite the pounding wound on her side.

Guns were still firing, and mortars still falling overhead, but Luz wasn't worried about them. He was worried about the young woman in his arms who was slowly bleeding to death. He could already feel her breath coming in shorter gasps against his neck. He closed his eyes and hugged her tighter against him. She seemed to feel his growing worry and looked up at him. He lightly drug his pointer finger along her cheek bone.

"A-are you s-scared?" she asked through chattering teeth.

"Of what?" he asked trying to sound nonchalant.

"We are l-literally the f-first foxhole on the line. If the Germans overt-take our line, we will be trapped. Not to mention the bullet in my side," she said pulling his arm further around her.

Luz sighed and looked down into her face.

"Are you scared?"

She shook her head making a few loose curls come out of her bun.

"I'm just w-worried about our b-boys. We should be helping them, but instead w-we are stuck under a tree."

"You wouldn't be much help anyway. If we weren't in here, you would be back at the aid station, or at least off the front," Luz reminded her.

He felt her shrug and nestle into his neck. He smiled and pressed his lips to her temple praying to any deity that would listen that she would be alright. After twenty minutes or so of not hearing anything from her, Luz lifted his head.

"Don't go to sleep Bell."

He shook her until she moaned.

"Why?" she slurred.

"You might not wake up," he said seriously.

"Yeah I will," she said, her voice quiet.

"Come on Bell. We just have to stay awake a little longer," Luz pleaded with her. "Someone will find us. Sooner or later, someone will find us."

He pulled the field jacket up around her neck and tightened his grip on her. He could feel the warmth between them, but he had no idea if it was going to be enough to save her. Hell he didn't even know if it was going to be enough to save himself. That was the moment he realized he wasn't only trying to save the woman he loved.

* * *

Luz had no idea he had even fallen asleep until parts of the tree above them started to fall on him. Despite the cold that had worked its way into his bones, he was awake in an instant struggling to see who was coming for them. The first thought that crossed his mind was Germans, but the voices he heard calmed him. He knew all the voices. He struggled with his vision. His eyes were open, but his body seemed to be so numb it couldn't function.

He felt Adriana's weight lift off of his chest. He instinctively tried to hold onto her, but his arms were like jelly. He felt arms around his chest lifting him out of the warmer foxhole and up onto the cold snow. He started shivering at once.

"Adriana," he mumbled.

"It's alright Luz. She is fine. You both are."

Luz recognized that voice, but he couldn't place it.

"Adriana," was the only word his brain would form.

"Easy buddy. Easy. She's fine."

Suddenly the voice matched a face.

"P-Perco?" he asked finally winning the battle with his eyes.

"Yeah pal, it's me," Perconte said coming into Luz's line of vision.

Luz suddenly felt significantly warmer and realized his field jacket was back on.

"Adri?" he asked looking around.

Perconte looked behind him then back at Luz.

"I'm sure she's fine," Perconte said, but his expression was less than convincing.

"Perconte if you're lying to me I swear to god," Luz threatened.

Perconte's eyes held fear, but Luz didn't think it was because he might make good on his threat. He had to see Adriana. Last he saw she was in pretty bad shape, and she was safely against his chest. He began to sit up, but a sudden head rush coupled with Perconte pushing him back down made it impossible. The world was spinning before his eyes when Spina showed up.

"Hey there Luz. How you feeling?" he asked.

"How is she?" he asked ignoring the question.

"Roe is with her right now. I'm sure she will be fine," Spina answered before feeling his forehead. "For now, I need you to worry about yourself."

Luz sighed and laid his head back on Perconte's knees. Once again he didn't know he was asleep until he woke up the next day.

* * *

"Well that was easy," Perconte said to Spina.

"Yeah. Let's get him to the rear."

Spina and Perconte drug their unconscious friend through the snow and past Easy company men, all of whom wanted to know what happened. When they got to the tent being used as temporary aid station/ Company HQ, most of the Toccoa men were mulling around outside. Malarkey looked away from his conversation with Muck just in time to see Perconte and Spina dragging Luz through the snow.

"What the hell happened? We just saw Roe and Babe carrying Rosie back here unconscious. Her lips were blue!"

"They were in a hole with a fallen tree keeping them in there," Perconte answered as Malarkey grabbed Luz's feet.

"How did they get in there?" he asked.

"They have been in there since the battle," Spina said opening the tent flap.

"What the hell?" Malarkey exclaimed, nearly dropping Luz. "That was two days ago!"

Perconte gave him a concerned look and affirming nod then disappeared into the tent.

"Shit," Malarkey said solemnly.

He turned and relayed the information to Muck and Penkala who had the same reaction. As the three talked with the other Toccoa men, Winters and Nixon came up.

"Sgt Lipton, would you find Lt. Dyke for me please," Winters asked.

"Yes sir," Lipton responded quickly and without question.

As he ran off Winters turned to the Toccoa men.

"Is there something I can do for you men?"

They all glanced at each other.

"We just want to make sure Luz and Adri are alright," Malarkey said.

Winters looked behind him at the tent then back to them.

"Roe told me he didn't want too many people in there. He is sure Luz will be alright, but Sgt Roosevelt is another story. She has a bullet in her hip bone, and she has lost a lot of blood. They both have been unconscious for the better part of two days. We will just have to pray boys. Get everyone to pray."

The men glanced around at one another then there were a chorus of 'yes sirs' and they all dispersed back to their foxholes. Winters sighed and glanced at his friend.

"I'm sure she will be fine Dick," Nixon said.

"I hope your right Nix. I hope your right."

**_Ahhh cliffhangers! I know it sucks, but you just have to come back and make sure Adriana is ok! _**

**_Remember to Review!_**

**_Love you all!_**


	24. Finally

_**Hey all! New chapter!**_

**_Thank you to _**Heartbeats77, BOB fan, SWfangirl21, FireIsLove, **_and_** Liliesshadow. _**My wonderful reviewers!**_

_**Thank you guys and my readers! I own nothing but Adriana Roosevlet. Thanks for sticking with me for this long guys! Love you all!**_

Luz woke up with a splitting headache. He moaned and brought a hand up to his forehead. Another hand replaced his. He opened his eyes to meet Doc Roe's.

"How yah feelin' Luz?" he asked.

"Like I got hit in the head with a damn train," he answered squeezing his eyes shut.

"You remember what happened?" Roe asked.

Luz took a deep breath, struggling to get through the mental fog of his mind. Suddenly everything came back to him and he sat straight up. He immediately regretted it. His stiff muscles protested painfully and he was forced to lie back slowly.

"Where is she Doc?" he asked worry etched in his face.

"She is at the hospital in Bastogne," Roe answered.

"I've got to see her," Luz declared sitting up again.

"Oh no you don't," Roe said pushing him down. "You need to be completely well before you try to move. You're lucky to be alive. Tell me what happened."

Luz sighed and relaxed onto the cot as he recalled the battle.

"I found her in the hole on the front just as the battle was about to start. We watched Smokey get hit, then she found a sniper and took out the driver of a tank. A few seconds after that she screamed and fell back into the hole. I didn't even have time to do anything before a mortar hit a tree making the damn thing fall over the hole. We couldn't get out and she was hurt. Damn Doc, I didn't know what to do. I was so scared."

Luz brought his hand up to his face and wiped away the sweat that was forming on his brow. He took a breath and continued.

"I took my shirt off to try and stop the bleeding. She was strangely calm the whole time. I tried to push the tree off and get out, but I couldn't so I just held her. I thought I was going to lose her."

Roe watched Luz's breath catch.

"What you did probably saved her," he said quietly.

Luz looked up surprised.

"You holding her for two days. It saved her. She is alive thanks to you."

Luz seemed to brighten and a half smile crossed his face. As Roe was about to speak Perconte opened the tent flap. A wide smile spread across his face when he realized Luz was awake.

"Heya buddy!" he said enthusiastically. "How yah feeling?"

"Not bad. I'm hungry," he answered sitting up and embracing his friend.

"Then we have the perfect thing for you!" Perconte answered. "Dinner is being served as we speak!"

They both looked at Roe who sighed and rolled his eyes but waved them out. Perconte helped his friend stand uneasily. As they walked, Luz's muscles warmed up and he could move around easily. With a helpful hand still on his shoulder Luz and Perconte made their way through the line and got some food. Once they had their lukewarm chow, they gathered in a loose circle with Easy company. Luz got nods and pats on the back from everyone.

"Good to see you up and around," Malarkey said warmly.

"Glad to be," Luz answered shoveling the food into his mouth.

As they were standing talking to Luz, Malarkey and Shifty, the sound of a jeep came rolling through the forest. Everyone looked up to see a driver and Sink in the front seat and someone small sitting in the back. No one really paid attention to when they got out, but suddenly there was a shout and everyone turned to look as Adriana stepped from the back seat.

Luz felt his face get warm despite the freezing air. She was engulfed in men greeting her and asking if she was alright. Finally Talb got in between her and the boys and forced them to back up to give her some room.

"Easy you vultures," he yelled placing a protective arm around her shoulders.

Roe pushed through the men.

"Why are you back here?" he asked. "You need to rest."

"The hell I do! The Col. Here brought me back," Adriana said looking back at Sink.

He nodded gently.

"She found me in Bastogne and stood in front of my jeep until I agreed to take her back to the line," he said with a laugh.

Adriana turned a light shade of pink and hung her head.

"What can I say? I can't stay away," she said with a smile.

Roe shook his head.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, but don't do too much. We want you to live through Bastogne."

"I promise Doc," she said hugging him.

That seemed to satisfy Roe and he surrendered his hold on her to Luz who had made his way to her. As Roe moved her eyes met Luz's. Adriana suddenly felt tears in her eyes and she launched herself at Luz. He was caught off guard at first, but he recovered in time to catch her.

He held her as gently as he could but was unable to restrain himself for long. All he wanted was to feel her heart, her warm skin, and her breath against his cheek. He didn't want to let her go because she might die and not come back to him. Finally, after realizing the men had grown quiet, he set her back on her feet and let go. She smiled up at him then their attention was turned to Sink who was starting to read a letter from General McCullough.

"Men! General McCullough wishes us all a merry Christmas. What's merry about all this you ask? Just this. We have stopped cold everything that has been thrown at us from the north, east, south and west. Now two days ago, the German commander demanded our honorable surrender. Save the USA encircled troops from total inhalation. The German commander received the following reply. To the German commander,"

He paused.

"Nuts!"

Everyone snickered and elbowed one another.

"We are giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present and being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms where we are truly making for ourselves, a merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you all and God bless," Sink finished.

As he left there were shouts of 'Nuts!' from almost everyone in the company. Luz laughed and turned to Adriana. He caught a glimpse of pain on her face, but it was gone as soon as it had come. She smiled at him.

"Does it hurt?" Luz asked placing a hand gently on her hip.

He heard her answer in the sharp intake of breath. He pulled his hand away, but her hand on his stopped him.

"It's alright," she said dropping her eyes and pulling his arms around her.

He gladly obliged and pulled her closer. There they stayed for a long time. Neither knew how long, but it was comforting to feel the other in their arms. Adriana's wound was protesting about the closeness, but she almost didn't feel it. What she did feel was Luz's warm body pressed against hers and his arms wrapping around her back.

"I woke up and panicked when I realized where I was. Actually where I wasn't," she said into his neck.

Luz leaned away from her enough so he could look at her face.

"At the aid station," she clarified looking into his brown eyes.

"I wasn't worried about you at all," Luz said.

Adriana glared at him and shoved his chest, but it was only half heartedly. Finally he pulled her back to his chest and got serious.

"I was worried about you as soon as I woke up. We were in that hole for two days," he informed her.

She didn't seem surprised.

"How did we live through that?" she asked.

"Roe says it's the way we were sitting," Luz said averting his eyes from hers.

Adriana cocked an eyebrow at him. She remembered well when he had begun taking his shirt off and what her reaction had been, then how good it had felt to get her shirt off and lay against his warm chest. The feeling of his arms around her back keeping her safe even in a foxhole under a tree. It had been true when she said she wasn't afraid, and it was all because of him. There in the middle of Bastogne, Adriana realized she was in love with George Luz. She pushed on his chest and put some space between them and met his eyes.

"I'm tired," she announced.

Luz smiled and held out his elbow. She grinned and slipped her arm through and they began to walk. After a few minutes, Adriana was lost in the snow and wind and cold and trees, but she trusted Luz to get them to the foxhole. He didn't disappoint. They easily found themselves on the edge of their foxhole. Their foxhole seemed to be the place to be that night. Inside were Perconte, Liebgott, Babe, Malarkey and Muck. Perconte, Toye, Guarnere, Shifty, Lip, Buck, and Nixon were sitting around the edge. Leaning against a tree a little way off was Roe. They all glanced up when they heard the snow crunching, and when they realized it was Adriana they all stood.

Adriana smiled at the sheepish looks they wore. She could see all those looks even through the blanket of fog and snow.

"Well hello boys," she said stopping next to Nixon. "Sir what are you doing here?"

"I was just making the rounds," Nixon said rubbing the back of his neck.

Adriana shook her head knowing full well that the ranking officers didn't make rounds.

"Looks like there aren't many rounds to make since all the men are here at my foxhole," Adriana said smiling at Nixon.

"Well you are right about that," Nixon said nodding to her. "Glad you're both alright."

"Thank you sir," she said and Luz nodded.

"Goodnight boys," he said and tromped off through the snow.

There was a long moment after Nixon had gone where all the men just glanced around at one another.

"So," Adriana prompted. "What are you all doing here?"

"Well isn't it obvious Rosie?" Guarnere asked standing and walking to her. "We was worried about your ass."

His drawl made her smile.

"You were all worried about little old me?" she asked with a grin.

"Sure we were," Babe said joining Guarnere standing in front of her.

A soft smile crossed her face and she opened her arms motioning them all to stand. Big smiles spread over their faces as they stood and raced each other to their little Sergeant. The group hug lasted longer than any of them anticipated because they were so damn warm.

"You better enjoy this boys. It's not going to happen anymore. You all smell like shit," Adriana said struggling to breath between Luz and Guarnere.

Really she very much enjoyed the smell of dirt and sweat and blood. It was real and comforting. It was strangely something she had grown to love during the war, especially when mixed with Luz's odor. There was nothing so comforting as blood, sweat, dirt and Luz, but she would never let him know that.

"Yeah well you don't smell to peachy either there Rosie," Babe snickered moving his face from against her hair.

"Hey, hey you don't have to be involved in this if you don't want," Lipton said shoving him out of the circle.

"Aww come on Lip!" Babe protested trying to push his way back in between Malarkey and Penkala.

"Alright boys why don't we let Adriana, Luz and Perconte get some sleep," Buck said dispersing the men from their hug.

The boys bid them goodnight and went back to their foxholes. Lip and Compton waited until they were all gone before they gave her individual hugs. Luz and Perconte slid into the foxhole and began smoking as Buck and Lip talked with her.

"You gave everyone quite a scare after the battle. We had boys out all night looking for your dead bodies," Buck informed her.

"Well there wasn't really much I could do Buck. I had a bullet in my side and a thousand pound tree covering me," she said good-naturedly.

"Well I'm just glad you're alright. I don't know what the men would do without you," he said.

"One man in particular," Lip said glancing over her head.

"Ehh. Perco would get over it," Adriana said shrugging, knowing full well Lip didn't mean Perconte.

Lip and Buck glanced at one another and shook their heads.

"Just keep your pretty head down," Buck said gently patting her cold cheek.

"Only if you promise to keep your big ass out of the line of fire," she said, a wide grin spreading over her face.

Buck laughed as he and Lip walked back to their holes. Adriana turned and went to hers. Before she slid in, she stood and looked at Luz. He hadn't noticed her yet so she was free to look at him without being interrupted. His beard had grown longer than she had ever seen it, and she wasn't quite sure she liked it yet. She envied being able to grow facial hair though. She only imagined how warm his cheeks and chin must be. She had always been drawn to cleaner shaven men, but maybe her preferences were changing. She thought to herself for a moment about all the other guys she had liked or been in a relationship with back home.

They were mostly wealthy guys, who cared about their looks as much as she cared about hers. A lot of them wore pink and wouldn't be caught dead in army drab. She smiled realizing Easy would relentlessly make fun of them if they ever were to meet them. Then another thought dawned on her. When you get to know someone the way she had gotten to know Luz, all their physical characteristics start to disappear. Long ago she had begun to dwell in his energy, recognize the scent of his skin. She could only see the essence of him, not the shell. She realized suddenly that that's why people can't fall in love with beauty or looks. They can lust after it, be infatuated by it, and want to own it, but they can't love it with their heart. She knew now that all Luz's physical imperfections were irrelevant. Not irrelevant. They were nonexistent. He was perfection in her eyes.

"What's the matter with you?" Perconte asked bringing her out of her thoughts.

She realized she had been staring at Luz with a dreamy expression and a stupid smile.

"Nothing," she said coolly. "I just realized something."

"Oh yeah? What?" Luz asked as she jumped in between him and Perconte.

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," she said curling against his side.

"Why not now?" he asked putting an arm around her back.

She shrugged and let her eyes slide closed.

"To tired," she lied.

She wasn't tired at all, but she couldn't articulate how amazing she was feeling. There was a massive amount of physical pain from her injury and just in general, but her spirit had never been so happy.

'Tomorrow,' she told herself. 'I'm going to tell him how I feel. I'm going to tell him I love him.'

She nodded to herself and slid her hand in his.

_**YAY! i love George and Adriana! Hope you all do too! **_

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	25. A Kiss from a Beautiful Girl'

_**NEW CHAPTER! YAY!**_

**_I want to thank all my readers and especially my reviewers! I own nothing but Adriana Roosevelt! Thanks guys!_**

Adriana didn't sleep that night, but she pretended she was so Luz could get some shut eye. It had only been a few hours since he and Perconte had quieted down when the Germans started to sing. She listened to the tune she knew well being sung in a foreign language.

"What the hell do they have to sing about?" Perconte grumbled.

Apparently he hadn't been as asleep as Adriana had thought.

"They are allowed to have a religion, Perco," Adriana reminded him. "They are human, just like us."

"They ain't like us," he hissed quietly so as not to wake Luz. "They are bombing the shit out of us all god damn day and night."

"We are doing the same to them," she said meeting his gaze.

"Well they started it," Perconte huffed folding his arms.

Adriana shook her head smiling. They sat in silence for an hour or so and listened to Christmas song after Christmas song. Adriana was mostly listening to Luz's breathing and heartbeat, but he woke with a start when a shell came screaming overhead. Before he was even fully awake, he threw himself over Adriana. Even will all the shelling and craziness, Adriana couldn't stop herself from being ecstatic when she felt him flush against her. She scolded herself at once, but only half heartedly.

Over the commotion, she heard someone shouting for a medic. It sounded like Winters. She almost wanted to go check it out, but thought it better to stay in her hole. Roe would have everything under control. She was content to stay under Luz's protective, and rather warm body. She didn't find out who got hit until the next morning.

She and Luz had fallen asleep in their foxhole after the shelling. They were both so exhausted, they hardly even moved from their position during the barrage. The next morning, Adriana awoke to an empty foxhole so she sat up and stretched. The cold was making her extremities stiff and she was beginning to think today wasn't going to go well at all when she remembered what she was going to tell Luz.

All at once her heart became heavy. She was suddenly terrified he wouldn't accept her feelings for him, although if she stopped and thought about it for half a second, she would have know there was nothing to worry about. After debating with herself for a few minutes, she grabbed her Thompsons, climbed out of the hole and began her search for the radioman. Before she had gotten twenty feet however, Winters appeared out of the fog.

"Morning sir," she said good naturedly.

"Ahh Roosevelt. Just who I wanted to see," he said stopping.

Although she was not happy about being delayed on her mission to find Luz, she stopped too.

"Really sir? Why?"

"Last night during the shelling, Harry got hurt and* was sent to the aid station," Winters began.

"Lt. Welsh? Will he be alright?" Adriana asked.

"Yes, Roe assures me he will be fine, but with him gone, we need someone to lead first platoon. You are the next in line."

He held up a 1st Lt. bar. She couldn't believe it.

"But sir, I was a 2nd Lt," she stammered.

"I know. Think of it as a promotion," he said pinning the bar on her collar.

"Thank you sir," she said still lost for words.

"No need to thank me. You are the perfect one for the job. Get it done," he said nodding.

Adriana saluted and watched him walk away. She slowly let her mouth fall open and suddenly her legs wouldn't support her. Luckily there was a log behind her. She sat down hard and let her face fall into her hands. On the one hand, she was overjoyed to have her Lt position back, but that meant she couldn't tell Luz how she felt about him. She shook her head, all of a sudden too tired to move. She thought about all her previous Christmas mornings. When she was a child she would be the first into the living room. Out of all her siblings she would run back and forth between the living room and her family literally pushing them forward. This was her worst Christmas to date. Not because they were in a war. Not because it was freezing. Because she couldn't tell the man she loved, she loved him. Without her knowing it, tears began to roll down her cheeks.

January 2, 1944

Ardennes Forest, Belgium

That morning Easy Company had traveled from Bastogne to the woods of Foy. Easy was supposed to clear the woods before the assault on Foy itself. During the long walk through the woods, Easy encountered MG fire and lost a few men, but for the most part met little resistance. The most exciting thing of the day was when Hoob shot the German scout off of a horse then went from foxhole to foxhole showing it off. Adriana and Lipton was helping Shifty dig his foxhole when Hoob came around.

"And down he goes right out of the saddle. Like a sack of potatoes. Outstanding accuracy on my part if I do say so myself," Hoob said smiling and waving the fire arm around.

"Which you do," Lip said as he continued digging.

"Which I do," Hoob agreed. "Hell Shifty, I think I could've even given you a run for your money."

"No no, I'm not a good shot," Shifty said modestly. "Now dad, he was an excellent shot, excellent, I declare, he could shoot the wings off of a fly."

"Hey Lip, that German, what do you think he was going?" Hoob asked.

"Probably a little recon," Lip said out of breath. "Must have figured no one would have heard a horse."

"I bet he was just trying to get the hell out of dodge," Adriana said leaning against the edge of the hole.

Hoob agreed.

"What happened to the horse?" Shifty asked.

"It's probably still runnin'," Hoob said. "I hope its ok."

"You all dug in?" Lip asked.

"Yeah," Hoob answered. "Yeah, just thought I would take a walk. Shoot the shit."

"Yeah well you're a good shot Hoob. Just glad you're on our side," Lip said smiling.

"Thanks Lip," Hoob said with a grin as he walked back to his hole.

"Hey guys."

It was Shifty.

"Thanks for the help."

"No problem Shifty," Adriana said sitting next to him and patting his shoulder.

"Hey Lip. Rose."

It was Buck. He nodded his head. Lip and Adriana climbed out of the hole and followed Buck a little ways away as Malarkey jumped in and shared a smoke with Shifty.

"Where's Dyke?" Buck asked.

"He's around," Lip answered.

"Could you be a little more specific there sergeant?" Buck asked.

"Not really sir," Lip replied.

"Damn it, I haven't seen him all day. I didn't see him when we were coming through the woods, and I have to figure out how we ended up."

"Two wounded," Adriana said.

"Who?" Buck asked sounding surprised.

"Brown and Stevens," she answered.

"God damn it," Buck swore. "Well where is Dyke. Where does he ever go?"

"I don't know but it would be nice if he stayed there," Malarkey put in.

"And it would be nice if he took Lt. Shames with him too," Shifty said.

"Shut up boys," Lip said.

"Shutting up sarge," Malarkey said, but just as the words left his mouth, a single gunshot rang out.

Buck, Lip and Adriana jumped into the foxhole with Malarkey and Shifty. They all grabbed their rifles and stayed low.

"Patrol?" Malarkey asked.

"Naw we would have heard," Lip said.

"One man, maybe a sniper," Buck said.

"What do you see Shift?" Adriana asked.

"Nothing," he said after a long pause.

"Aww geeze its Hoob! He's shot!"

"Sniper?" Buck asked.

"No no, he shot himself!"

Adriana was on her feet in an instant followed by Buck and Lip. They darted through the trees until they saw a gathering of people and heard Perconte yelling for a medic. Adriana slid to a stop by Hoob's leg. He was babbling about his new luger just going off.

"Shit Buck I wasn't touchin' it or nothin'," Hoob said writhing.

"What were you doing with a loaded gun in your pants?" Buck asked holding Hoob's head still. "Shit where's Doc?"

"Medic!" Perconte yelled again.

"God, it's his leg," Adriana said ripping his pant leg open.

Blood poured out like a river being released from behind a damn. Adriana did the best she could at stemming the blood flow until Roe could get there, but Hoob was reaching for her. She climbed over the men and knelt behind Hoob's head taking Buck's spot.

"Take it easy Hoob, you're going to be fine," she said leaning forward and meeting his eyes.

She held his gaze.  
"It hurts like a son of a bitch Rosie," he said through chattering teeth.

"I know Hoob, I know, but you will be alright," she said stroking his cheek. "Doc!"

Adriana noticed his shivering and she leaned back to pull her field jacket off and lay it across Hoob. Buck did the same thing with his then Adriana leaned forward and held Hoob's face gently against her. Roe came running up soon after and took over the care of the wound.

"You think it was a German leg Hoob?" he asked when hearing how he got the injury.

Any other time Adriana would have found it funny because Roe hardly ever made jokes, but Adriana almost missed the comment because she was so focused on poor Hoob.

"Hey Rosie," Hoob said.

"Yeah Hoob?" she said leaning down close to his face.

"You think I'm a good shot right?"

"The best shot I know, Hoob," she answered smiling gently.

"Hang in there Hoob, it's not even that bad," Buck said patting his head. "You jump out of a fuckin' plane, your tough."

"How we doing Doc?" Lip asked.

"I can't see anything; we've got to get him back to an aid station," he responded.

Adriana realized at that moment that Hoob was in trouble so she leaned lower over him and softly put her forehead against his. He opened his eyes and met her gaze.

"Am I gonna die Rosie?" he asked so only she could hear.

She said nothing, but a tear dropped onto his cheek. He smiled and brought a hand up to her cheek. She caught his hand and held it in hers.

"You want to know what I have wanted since I met you?"

"Tell me Hoob," she said.

"A kiss from a beautiful girl," he said with a cheeky grin.

Adriana shook her head and pressed her lips tenderly against his. She felt him smile into the kiss then she pulled away only a little so he could talk.

"Now go do that to Luz," he said nodding.

Before she could answer he was suddenly struggling for breath. She felt tears pouring down her cheeks as she held him tighter.

"No no, Hoob stay with us," she pleaded.

She thought she saw him give her a smile before his body jerked and then he was still.

"Damn it," she cursed holding Hoob's cheeks.

She lifted his head and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. She held his limp form against her and tenderly kissed his forehead.

"Doc," she sobbed.

He continued working on Hoob's leg.

"Doc!" she half screamed.

He and Lip jumped as they realized Hoob was no longer with them.

"The… uh bullet cut the main artery," Doc said quietly.

They all let out a sigh and leaned away from their friend's body. Perconte shook his head and stumbled away as Buck took his and Adriana's jacket back. He put his on, and laid Adriana's over her back. She was busy. She looked down at the man she had come to love as a little brother. She stroked his scruffy cheek and choked on a sob. Buck placed a gentle hand on her back and began drawing slow, soothing circles into her back. After a few minutes with everyone shocked into silence and Adriana sobbing against Hoob's chest Lip stood.

"I'm going to tell Winters."

"No," Adriana said not moving. "I'll do it."

"You sure?" Lip asked.

She stood and nodded.

"Ok. Thanks," Lip said walking toward the foxholes to tell the men.

Adriana cast one more look at Hoob's body then turned toward Winters' and Nixon's tent. As she walked she let the cold air rush over her face and she realized her tears hadn't stopped. As she brought her hands up to wipe them away she saw that they were covered in blood. Hoob's blood. She felt a lump rise in her throat and tears in her eyes, but she pushed the lump back and wiped her eyes with the clean part of her sleeve. By then she was at the tent. She pushed back the flap and went in to find Winters shivering behind a pot of coffee and Nixon pouring over some maps.

"Sir," she said nodding to both of them.

"Adri," said Nixon happy to see her until he saw the blood on her hands.

"Is everything alright?" Winters asked.

"No sir," she said pausing for a second. "Hoob is dead."

"What the hell happened?" Nixon asked.

"He got a luger from a dead Kraut and it went off. He was wearing so many clothes we couldn't see how bad he was bleeding. Roe said the bullet cut the main artery in his leg," she explained all while looking at her hands.

"Aww hell Adri. It wouldn't have made a difference if you had known. You cut that main artery in the leg, that's it."

"Yes sir," she said quietly. "I'm going to go back and make sure the boys are all dug in sir."

"Adriana." She turned. "Where's Dyke?"

"You want to see him sir?" she asked.

"No I just expected to get this kind of information from him," Winters said through chattering teeth.

"Well I was there sir," she said shivering just remembering the experience. "I figured it might as well be me."

With that she turned and left the tent. As she stepped back into the cold she thought about their CO.

"Where's Dyke?"

Adriana had probably heard that question a thousand times that day alone. Hell she had asked it a few times herself. There were long stretches where no one knew where Lt Dyke was. He would disappear. Go off on long walks. It wouldn't have been so bad if Dyke was just another man in the company, but he was supposed to be leading the company. Winters was a CO everyone could respect. Moose Hyliger probably would have done a good job, but he got shot before they had a chance to find out. Then came Norman Dyke. Dyke wasn't a bad leader because he made bad decisions. He was a bad leader because he made no decisions.

Since being promoted, Adriana had entertained the idea of being the CO of easy, but had quickly dismissed that from her mind. A woman in the airborne was already unheard of. They didn't need any more firsts. She continued walking mostly for lack of something else to do until she realized she had stopped. Perconte had a hand on her shoulder and was talking to her. She finally began registering what he was saying.

"Hey Rosie, you doing ok?"

She couldn't speak. That damn lump in her throat, but she met his eyes.

"Aww Rosie," he said pulling her into him. For a minute she didn't move, only let herself be enveloped by his warmth. Finally she let the tears come. She clenched his field jacket and cried into his neck. She felt his body shaking with sobs just like hers. She realized this was strange. She was usually the one sobbing hysterically and whoever the man hugging her was tried to comfort her. She very much enjoyed not being talked at. Mourning for the same individual was comforting enough. After what felt like hours, and might have been, Adriana didn't think any more tears would come. She would find out later she would be wrong, but for now she was correct. She knew now would be the time to push Perconte away and say she was fine, but she wasn't. She wanted to be in his hold forever. Eventually though, he pulled back so he could see her.

His cheeks were flushed and tear tracks stained his face. His brown eyes searched her face probably seeing just about the same thing she was seeing. There was nothing Adriana had to say, so she smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Get some sleep," she said.

"Where you goin'?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

"Gotta check on the boys," she replied.

With that they parted and quite soon, Adriana found herself walked up to Guarnere's foxhole. She must have had a strange look on her face, because Bill and Babe were staring up at her.

"Hey Bill," she greeted him glumly. "Babe."

"Hey Rosie," they said watching her carefully.

"You got any room in there?"

"Corse I do," Bill said elbowing Babe.

As she slid in Bill grabbed Babe and pulled him close.

"Get out of here will yah? I think she needs me."

Babe nodded and climbed out of the hole muttering something about having to take a piss.

"What happened girl?" Bill asked as Adriana seated herself and curled against his side, a sob already escaping her.

"Hoob is dead. His luger went off and cut the artery in his leg."

Adriana felt the comforting weight of his arm around her back and his lips against her cheek. She heard him swear quietly then he hugged her tighter. This was the way they stayed while Adriana cried until she fell asleep. Guarnere didn't sleep, but watched over the young woman. He worried this war would be too taxing on her already fractured heart.

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	26. Lost in the Storm

_**Hey guys! sorry its been so long! I hope you enjoy it! Thanks all my readers, especially my reviewers! Thanks guys!**_

The next morning Adriana woke to the sounds of quiet talking. She opened her eyes to see the three amigos, Malarkey, Muck and Penkala in the foxhole. Guarnere was still holding her against him and mostly because she was warm she didn't move but Penkala saw her.

"Mornin' Rosie," he said quietly.

"Hey Penk," she greeted him. "Muck, Malark."

The boys nodded at her. Apparently Guarnere had told them how he had found her the night before because they were acting strange.

"What are we talking about?" she asked, still not moving from Guarnere's hold.

He seemed glad.

"Dyke," Muck said gruffly.

"As I was sayin'," Guarnere continued. "We are screwed."

"You ask me, I'm glad Lt. Dyke's never around," Penkala said folding his arms.

"Hey you know, we're doin' alright, even with," Malarkey paused. "Foxhole Norman."

"Yeah Don, we're doin' alright. We're doin' alright now. In case you haven't noticed there's a little town down there and in that town there are these guys, and these guys are called Germans, and these Germans got tanks," Guarnere explained like Malarkey was just another replacement. "And our side is going to want to go into that town. And guess who they are going to want to go knocking on the gawd damn door."

"I know Bill," Malarkey said rather forcefully. "It's me your talking to here."

"Jesus Christ, we have gotten through all this with a CO who's got his head so far up his ass, that lump in his throat is his gawd damned nose," Guarnere spat.

"Hey first Seargent!" Muck said in his always cheerful voice as Lip walked up.

"Hey boys. Adriana," he greeted her separately.

She nodded to him.

"Hey Muck, what's the word?" Lip asked.

"Uh you know. Sitting around freezing our asses off," he paused and glanced at Guarnere. "Singing Dyke's praises."

"You know," Adriana said as Lip sat on the edge of the hole. "I wouldn't want to be a replacement officer coming in here. You get thrown in with a group of guys who have known each other for what? Two years?" she asked.

Lip took over.

"Guys who have been in combat since Normandy. He's just supposed to show up and lead them? I mean, hows a guy do that? How does anyone really hope to gain the respect of the toughest most professional, most dedicated sons of bitches in the entire ETO?"

He glanced around at them for an answer.

"Seems to me," Adriana said. "You would have to march off to Berlin and come back with Hitler's moustache or something."

They shared a laugh then Lip said," Listen you boys don't worry about Dyke. We all just do our jobs and we will be fine."

They all nodded and he walked away. Adriana didn't know if she believed a word of what had been said, but it was her job to get these boys through the war and if lying about Dyke got them home, god damned if she didn't do it. As she lay there against Guarnere listening to the hum of conversation she thought about Hoob, bringing tears to her eyes but they didn't fall. Then she thought about his last request. 'A kiss from a beautiful girl.' She smiled. She had kissed two men in this company, neither the one she wanted to.

Her mind then drifted to Luz. She hadn't spoken to him much since the bombings on Christmas eve when they had spend the night together in the foxhole. As she had been on her way to tell him she loved him, Winters had promoted her to Lt and her dreams and notions of love went out the window. She had felt awkward in his presence since then.

'Until now,' she declared.

She wasn't going to waste time and have him die without her there.

'Thanks Hoob,' she said to herself as she stood.

She bid Guarnere, Muck, Malarkey and Penkala goodbye and climbed out onto the snow. Hoob's death had shown her what really mattered and she wasn't going to let that pass her by. She half jogged half walked around Easy company looking for that damn man. She hadn't noticed his absence since she had been trying to avoid him, but now she was afraid he might have been killed and she didn't know. Finally Perconte told her to check Doc Roe's hole. She did and found Luz getting his arm stitched up.

"What the hell happened?" she asked surprising both of them.

"Oh hey Rosie. Haven't seen you for awhile," Luz said looking away from her.

It was not like him to get his feelings hurt easily, but Adriana figured it wasn't without warrant.

"I got stabbed by a branch," he said looking at the ground.

"Was the branch being wielded by a German?" she asked playfully.

She saw a smile cross his face.

"It was still attached to a tree," he confessed.

"But a German was throwing the tree at you right?" she asked, her smile widening.

Luz sighed as Roe finished. He climbed out of the hole and threw his good arm around her.

"No Rosie. I ran into the branch that was on the tree that was still in the ground."

She snickered and leaned against him.

"Thanks Doc!" Luz yelled over his shoulder.

Roe nodded.

"You know we really need to give that man more credit. We would all be bloody and some of us dead without him," he said pointedly.

Adriana nodded.

"I would be dead a few times over if not for him. For all of you," she said stopping and turning him to her.

As he looked at her everything suddenly went into slow motion. She realized what she was about to tell him would change everything. If he knew she loved him, he would be happy, that she was sure of, but would he be more focused on her? Would he still be able to function as a soldier with the distraction of her? Would he be able to think rationally when presented with the choice of sacrificing himself or others to save her? Suddenly she wasn't so sure this was the best thing to do.

"Hoob's dead," she said to buy herself time.

"I know," Luz said eyes downcast.

"He died in my arms."

She watched Luz's jaw clench.

"I'm sorry Rosie," he said sincerely.

She decided to leave out the part about the kiss, but then wasn't sure why she would.

"He asked for a kiss before he died."

She immediately realized why she wasn't going to tell him. He instantly met her gaze, his eyes asking the question he couldn't. All of a sudden the air between them was very awkward.

"It wasn't a long kiss," she said trying to distract from the fact that her lips had met his.

Luz seemed to gain some composure.

"It was a last request. That is probably the last request of all the guys here."

"God I hope not," Adriana said turning and walking again.

Luz fell in step along side her and they had very comfortable conversation until they reached their foxhole where they found Muck and Penkala.

"What are you boys doing in our foxhole?" Adriana asked good-naturedly.

The two looked at each other.

"This is your foxhole?" Penkala asked genuinely confused.

"I told you we should have taken a right at the tree," Muck said sarcastically.

"Don't worry boys, we don't mind sharing," Luz said hopping in followed by Adriana.

They were barley there for five minutes before Buck walked up to them and started talking about them doing stupid things.

"Sure thing Buck. Nothing stupid," Penkala said. "We got it. Right?"

He elbowed Muck.

"Right," Muck said shivering.

"Alright?" he looked down. "George? Adri?"

"I hear you," Adriana said nodding.

"Nothing stupid Buck," Luz promised.

Adriana saw Buck's square jaw clench before he walked away. She also noticed Luz shivering. She scooted closer to him and elbowed him until he opened up his jacket and let her in. The change in temperature was instant and they both felt better. Muck and Penkala pretended like they didn't notice.

"Don't do anything stupid? Who the hell is talking to? A bunch of morons who volunteered to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Can it get anymore stupid than that?" Penkala asked.

"Probably not," Luz said still shivering a little.

"I swam across the Niagra once," Muck said.

Luz laughed at him.

"I swear," he said seriously. "On a bet."

"In what? A barrel?" Luz asked clearly missing the point.

"No… god, I didn't go over the falls, George, I swam across the river," Muck said exasperated. "Ten miles up from the falls. I tell yah, that current is damn strong. It must have carried me at least two miles downstream before I got across. But I got across."

They all laughed.

"Now personally, I didn't think it was all that stupid, but my mom, my sister Ruth, they gave me all kinds of hell."

"Good for them," Adriana said with a smile.

"So did Fae," Muck added with a dreamy sound to his voice.

"Ahh sweet Fae Tanner," Luz said with a grin.

"Shut it George," Muck said kicking him.

"Well, they had a point. You're an idiot," Penkala pointed out.

Adriana stood at Muck glared at is friend.

"Alright boys, I have to go make the rounds. Get some rest."

"What the hell are you making rounds for?" Penkala asked. "Isn't that the Lt's job?"

"That it is Penk, that it is," she said leaning down so he could see her collar.

He was confused for half a second then his eyes landed on the silver bar on her collar.

"Well shit," he said.

Adriana nodded as they saluted her and as she walked away she could hear Penkala asking, "When the hell did that happen?"

After finding and checking on almost everyone, one man was still unaccounted for. She couldn't find Lip. She jogged around a little more and finally came upon him sitting in a hole cleaning Hoob's luger. He didn't have to look up to know her soft footfalls.

"How are you Adri?" he asked.

"Cold," she confessed softly.

He glanced up at her and lifted the blanket next to him. She smiled and slid down the side and made herself comfortable next to him. Suddenly he turned to her and looked in her eyes.

"What the hell is a beautiful girl like you doing in Bastogne?"

Adriana sighed.

"Well I guess it's in my blood to fight. My father was in a war too."

"That's not what I asked," Lip said looking at her hard.

She wasn't sure how to answer.

"You mean to tell me you had no other options? You had nothing better you could be doing with your life? What about a family?" Lip asked.

Adriana turned on him.

"I could ask the same thing of you Carwood Lipton. Why are you here? You're married. Why aren't you with her starting a family?"

Lip sighed.

"I guess it's not as different as I thought. It's only because… well,"

"I'm a woman," she finished.

Lip nodded and a comfortable silence fell between them.

"I do want a family though," Adriana said after a few minutes.

Lip looked up at her.

"I have always wanted kids."

"And who's going to be the father?" Lip asked like it was a normal thing to ask of women.

Adriana shook her head.

"I don't know Lip. I mean what kind of man is ever going to want me? I'm all scarred. On the inside and out."

She sadly slid a hand over the scars she had received on D-day and let her fingers rest on her neck. There was a raised imprint where the German had choked her to death. The bullet wound in her hip was still healing and she knew it would leave a nasty scar and the bullet wound from D-day on her shoulder still ached from time to time. The various other scrapes she had received from just crawling through the dirt and climbing through jagged bushes covered her face and neck. She suddenly felt very self conscious and Lip saw it.

"What are you talking about?" he asked absently cleaning the Luger. "Any man would be lucky to have you. Any man here would marry you in a heartbeat. Even the ones who are already married," he said smiling gently.

"Even Winters?" she asked trying to make a point.

"I think even Major Winters would be hard pressed not to marry you if you asked," Lip said completely serious.

Adriana rolled her eyes but didn't have time to do more because someone behind them started speaking.

"I heard about Hoobler," came the voice.

Adriana and Lip turned to see none other than their fearless leader.

"Shame."

Adriana glanced at Lip. All foxhole Norman had to say about Hoob's death was that it was a 'shame.' Adriana scoffed. He probably had never even talked to Hoob. What did he care if he was dead. She didn't say anything for fear she would not be able to keep the insults from rolling out, but Lip responded as calm as ever.

"Yes sir. It is," he said still cleaning the gun.

"Is that the Luger?" Dyke asked.

"Yes it is," Lip said patiently.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Dyke asked leaning forward like he wanted it.

"I don't know yet," Lip sighed, seemingly unaware that Dyke looked like he might grab it and run.

Adriana watched him carefully. His eyes held lust for that gun, but suddenly he changed topic.

"Where you from Lipton? Where did you grow up?"

"Huntington West Virginia."

"Huntington!" Dyke said pausing a moment. "I don't know it."

Adriana was sure Lip didn't care if he knew his home town or not.

"What kind of work did you do there?" he asked.

Adriana was glad that he didn't seem to care much about her or her back story, even though he would probably find it more interesting than Lip's.

"My brother and I helped my mom run a boarding house."

"And your father?"

Lip shifted uncomfortably next to Adriana before answering.

"He was killed when I was ten sir. Automobile accident," he answered.

Adriana, of corse, already knew this. Three years of being a family and you got to know everything about everyone.

"That's sad," he said in a dry monotone.

After a minutes pause he spoke again.

"So what made you want to join the paratroopers?"

"I read an article on paratroopers in 'Life' magazine. Talked about the training. How hard it was. Said if you wanted to make it as a paratrooper, you had to be the best and I wanted to fight with the best sir."

"You miss it?" Dyke asked cryptically.

"Miss what?" Lip asked confused.

"Huntington."

"Honestly sir, I try not to think about it that much," Lip said.

Adriana could see he was starting to lose his patience. Apparently Dyke could too because he was gone as suddenly as he came. Lip snickered to himself then turned to Adriana.

"Get back to your hole will yah? That boy will be missing you by now."

Adriana didn't have to be told who he was talking about. She kissed him on the cheek then clambered out of the hole. Lip watched her go, then went back to cleaning the Luger.

After leaving Lip's hole, she had gotten herself hopelessly lost. In every direction she looked, there were white torrents of snow. She could hardly see trees in front of her. She wasn't going to find anything in this storm so she decided to sit and wait it out rather than getting herself further lost. She pulled her coat tighter around her neck and sat between two trees trying to stay out of the cold wind. Almost instantly she began to shiver.

For some reason it never crossed her mind that she could freeze to death there between two trees until that moment when she stopped shivering. By then she knew it must be too late, but then Doc Roe popped out of the trees ahead of her. It took a minute for him to see her, then register she wasn't a German. He jogged to her side.

"Adriana?" he asked still unsure.

"Yeah Doc it's me," she said calmly.

He knelt down next to her and touched her cheek. He pulled his hand back quickly.

"We need to get you warm," he said taking her hand and helping her to her feet.

She leaned heavily against him because she couldn't feel her legs.

"Take it easy," Doc said pulling one of her arms around his shoulder and putting his arm around her waist.

He mostly carried her back to his foxhole. He lowered her down into the only slightly warmer temperature of the hole, but he was glad to see her start to shiver. He jumped in with her and pulled a blanket out of his pack. He threw it over her and tucked it in around one side and tucked himself in on her other. He pulled her close and wrapped her trembling form into his chest. Without another word she fell asleep.

The next morning she and Roe awoke to cheering. She stretched feeling significantly better than the day before. She crawled out from under the blanket and pulled Roe after her to see what was going on. They jogged to the circle of men where they found Peacock. Bull was speaking.

"Congratulations Lt. Peacock. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more," Bull said genuinely happy to see him leave, but not for the reason Peacock thought.

"Thanks," Peacock said.

The man was all smiles as everyone congratulated him.

"Really glad that you're going home," Luz said shaking his hand.

Adriana giggled as Peacock thanked him.

"Best news I've heard in weeks," Christenson said patting his arm.

"Thanks guys. It really means a lot you know?"

"Aww get out of here," Adriana said stepping up to him and hugging him.

They did three cheers for him, then sent him on his way.

_**PLEASE REVIEW! Love you all!**_


	27. Its About Damn Time

**_Hey all! Next chapter! I hope you like it!  
_****_Special thanks to my reviewers, _**_hodhod2011danger, Heartbeats77,Scousernic, the everchanging, Liliesshadow, FireIsLove, SWfangirl21, BOB fan,SilverMistKunoichi, LauRa-ReaDinG-XoX, **and anyone I may have missed.  
I love you all!  
I own nothing but Adriana Roosevelt.**_

After Peacock left, everyone began lining up to get chow. Adriana was walking quickly. Being a popsicle the night before coupled with not eating much the last few days made her suddenly hungry, but she was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned and was met with worried green eyes.

"Hey Shift," she greeted the young sharpshooter.

His face was cherry red with a scarf pulled tight around his neck. His eyes were tired and looked dead. It frightened her then she remembered the last time she had talked to Shifty. It had been the day before they had gone into Holland for the battle of Market Garden. Right after he kissed her.

She remembered the way his eyes looked after she said she couldn't be with him. She had said she was an officer and didn't want to be with any of the men. That had only been partly true. She was an officer, but she would have and would still gladly give up her ranking to be with a certain man. She couldn't believe she had let such a long time go by where she didn't speak to him.

"It's been a while," she said sheepishly.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I heard about you getting hurt. Just thought I would see how you were."

"Thanks Shift. I'm doing alright," she said smiling at him. "Getting shot hurts like a son of a bitch, but it will take more than a stray bullet to keep me down."

He nodded.

"I'm glad you're alright," he said and leaned forward.

He placed a slow, deliberate kiss on her cheek then walked away. Adriana stood stunned for a moment. She had to ask herself twice if that was actually a kiss. Finally she had to agree with herself that it was. And it wasn't just any kind of kiss. It was slow and planned out. He walked up to her with the intention of kissing her. Adriana quickly wrote the incident off as her being to paranoid, but there was still a thought scratching at the back of her mind. Shifty still had feelings for her and he wasn't giving up.

The thought was soon nowhere to be found because Joe Toye was back after getting shot on New Years. His arm was in a sling, but other than that, he seemed healthy. She thumped his back as he got in line in front of her and Muck.

"Glad your back," Adriana said.

"Glad _your_ back. I heard you got hit," Toye said giving her a once over.

She pulled up her shirt to show him the bandage.

"Took one in the hip. Not a big deal," she said dismissively. "How are you?"

"Where'd yah get it?" an excited replacement asked Joe before he could answer Adriana.

"What's that?" Toye asked in typical Toye fashion.

"Ehh Replacement," Muck said.

"Really," Joe said. "I thought it was some guy I've known for two years and I forgot his face."

Adriana and Muck snickered.

"Joe got hit in the arm," Penkala explained. "New Years eve gift from the Krauts."

"A lot of you guys been injured?" the kid asked.

"Its called wounded, peanut," Johnny Martin said from behind him. "Injured is when you fall out of a tree or something."

He shared a laugh with Guarnere.

"Don't worry," Muck said turning to the replacement. "There is enough crap flying around here, you're bound to get dinged sometime. Almost every single one of these guys has been hit at least once."

Adriana got her meal and went to stand by Luz while Muck gave his usual introduction. Muck looked around for his first victim.

"Except for Alley! He is a two timer."

Alley laughed and greeted Muck by taking some of his chow.

"He landed on broken glass in Normandy and got peppered by a potato masher in Holland."

The replacement looked in wonder at Alley who just said, "You'll find out son."

"Now Bull," Muck said moving on. "He got a piece of exploding tank in Holland."

Bull didn't seem to care about the kid or Muck's introduction as Muck moved on.

"Now George Luz here, he has never been hit."

Muck looked at his friend.

"You're one lucky Bastard," he said to him.

"Takes one to know one Skip," Luz said with a grin.

"Ehh consider us blessed," Muck said. "But you know who isn't blessed?"

The replacement shook his head.

"This girl right here," he pointed to Adriana. "She nearly got a concussion jumping from an exploding plane, got shot in the shoulder and strangled all on D-Day. She caught a bullet in the foot in Carentan, one in the shoulder in Holland and one in the hip a few days ago. She is the toughest son of a bitch in these woods. It's funny though cause she is the smallest target. Well aside from Perco."

Perconte shook his head and grinned. Adriana smiled at the replacement and pulled down her scarf so the kid could see the raised marks from the German's hands around her neck. He visibly gulped.

"Don't worry though. She don't bite," Muck assured him.

"But we do," came a voice from somewhere in the back.

Adriana recognized Bill's Philly drawl at once. So did all the other Toccoa men and they laughed.

"But seriously," Muck said to the kid. "Don't mess with her."

His voice was somehow light and friendly, yet deadly serious. The replacement gulped again and Muck continued.

"Now Liebgott, that skinny little guy, he got pinged to the neck in Holland."

Liebgott smirked.

"And that other skinny little guy, that's Popeye. He got shot in his scrawny little butt in Normandy."

Popeye smiled sheepishly. Then Malarkey jumped in.

"And Buck got shot in his rather large butt in Holland."

Buck turned from his conversation with Perconte and pointed to the place the one bullet had entered making four holes.

"It's an Easy company tradition getting shot in the ass," Penkala said from next to Malarkey.

"Even First Sergeant Lipton over there," Adriana added.

Lip looked up smiling.

"He got a couple pieces of a tank shell burst and Carentan. One got him in the face. The other almost took out his nuts," Adriana explained.

The replacement laughed nervously.

"How are those nuts Sarge?" Bill asked.

"Doing fine Bill. Nice of you to ask," he answered, a grin still wide on his face.

Adriana finished her cold chow and leaned her shoulder against Luz. He smiled down at her catching the eye of the new replacement, nicknamed Peanut. He elbowed his new friend Muck.

"Are they-"

"Yes," Muck said not even needing him to finish his sentence to know what he was talking about.

"Lucky guy," Peanut said.

"Damn Lucky," Muck agreed.

"Do they…" he paused and Muck turned to him.

Muck watched his face flush.

"Do they… you know?"

"You mean do they get it on in the foxhole in the middle of a war zone?" Muck asked grinning. "He wishes. He loves that damn girl."

"Why do you say it like that?" Peanut asked.

"Everyone loves her probably more than we should, but Luz is the lucky bastard who she loves back. I tell yah one thing," Muck said jabbing Peanut in the chest. "I'm going to be at their wedding if for nothing else to poke fun at Luz for not making that girl his the moment he saw her at Toccoa."

"So even though you guys all love her, your happy for him?" Peanut questioned.

Muck glared at him like he had just insulted him.

"Of course we are happy for him you moron. He is our brother. Besides, they belong together."

That ended the conversation. Not long after that, Easy Company began their journey back to the woods overlooking Foy. It was January 3rd. Adriana was walking behind Lip as Easy passed the foxhole holding Perconte, Christenson and Peanut. They were staying behind attached to D Company to help hold the front.

"Good luck Ladies," Guarnere said as he passed.

"Been nice knowing you," Toye said from behind him.

"Wouldn't drink too much if I were you," Alley said with a smirk.

"Hey careful if he offers you a cigarette," Malarkey cautioned.

"We will miss you boys," Adriana said.

As she passed she stretched out a hand to Christenson who took it and gave it a squeeze. She returned the squeeze then followed Luz through the woods. Much later after walking for what felt like hours, Easy Company finally reached their old position overlooking Foy. Upon getting there, Toye jumped happily back into his hole, promptly followed by an 'AHHHH!'

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" he shouted. "Someone's gonna die. Someone is gonna FUCKING DIE!"

Toye glanced around trying to find someone to complain to when Adriana and Guarnere strolled by.

"Adri, Gano, look at this shit! One of those first battalion fuckers took a dump in my foxhole!"

"They took a shit in everyone's foxhole Joe," Guarnere answered. "I don't think they wanted to spend much time above ground."

Adriana nodded as she followed the two men through the woods of their old position. Apparently while Easy was in the woods outside of Foy, the Germans had been shelling their old position. Trees Adriana recognized by the placement of the foxholes she knew where standing when they left were now on the ground or just gone. Foxholes were buried by snow and pieces of trees. No one was talking or laughing or smoking as they walked through their old position. Everyone was afraid of what had been happening since they left.

As they got closer Adriana could see across the open field into the town of Foy. Looking across, Adriana could see a lot of enemy troops, but no enemy artillery. That was the thing that was going to be more of a problem for Easy. As Adriana contemplated where the hell they could be hiding it, Lip came up behind her. He tapped her shoulder gently.

"We are meeting with Dyke."

She nodded and followed him. They met Buck, Lt. Shames and another officer Adriana didn't know. Dyke was a ways away leaning against a tree. Adriana roller her eyes in his direction then joined the small circle, huddling in between Lip and Buck. They seemed to subconsciously edge closer to her and close the gap on either side. Lt. Shames, who everyone, including Adriana detested, sent her an icy glare, but she pretended not to notice.

"Looks like the Krauts have been hitting this area with pretty big stuff. 88s. I'd say they got this whole stretch of the line targeted," Lip began to explain.

"Well they're not shelling now. Maybe they are done?" suggested Lt. Shames.

"No," said Lip hurridly. "They are just waiting."

"For what?" Shames asked.

"For us to reoccupy the position," Buck said his nose in a map.

"Maybe we should fall back to a different-"

"No," Adriana inturrupted. "It's our job to hold the position here. We got pretty good foxholes, we just have to re-enforce the cover."

Lt. Shames glared at her and said, "well if they are zeroed on us then-"

"We hold the line… here," Buck said ending the argument. "Roosevelt is right. We are going to strengthen our covers and hang in. We are NOT going to fall back."

He glanced around at them then at Dyke.

"Right Lt?" he yelled to him.

"Hmm?" he asked stupidly.

"Right Lt?" Buck yelled again holding a thumbs up.

"Fine," he said checking his watch. "You take care of it. I have to make a call."

With that he turned and tromped off through the forest. Adriana shook her head and shuffled closer to Buck, trying to leach some of his warmth. Adriana always seemed to be cold no matter what she did. Buck didn't mind. In fact he missed the feeling of a woman on his arm.

"Go fix your cover and help the boys," Buck said dismissing the other three.

He popped his elbow for Adriana who snaked her arm through. He felt her small fingers clutch the fabric of his overcoat. He smiled and shouldered his rifle and put his hand over the one on his arm. Adriana smiled up at him.

"You know Lt. Shames might like you better if you weren't always inturrupting him and undermining his authority," Buck said with a smile.

"He is an asshole," Adriana said simply. "And he is stupid. I wouldnt have to undermine his authority if he knew what the hell he was doing in battle."

Buck nodded and changed the subject.

"How are you Adri?" he asked leaning over and placing his lips against her temple.

"I'm cold, but not bad," she said answering with a kiss of her own on his cheek. "How are you?"

"Now I'm asking the questions around her Miss Roosevelt," he said showing his award winning smile. "My first was how are you. My second is why the hell you're here with me rather than in a foxhole with the man who loves you. More important the man _YOU_ love."

Adriana was taken aback. She stopped walking and pulled him to a stop.

"What are you-"

"Adriana Roosevelt, don't play dumb with me," Buck interrupted turning and facing her. "Everyone knows you belong to George Luz."

She started to protest, but he held up a hand.

"And he belongs to you," he finished. "Go to him."

She shook her head, but Buck captured her face between his palms.

"Go now. Before its too late to tell him how you feel."

Adriana couldn't believe Buck, but she did know how she felt about Luz, and with Buck pushing her, she decided she was ready. She kissed him on the cheek and dashed away through the forest to find the man she loved. Twice she tripped and once she fell into a foxhole containing Bill, Toye and Malarkey. They all shouted at her to get the fuck off of them until they realized it was her.

"Hey Rosie!" Malarkey said happy to see her. "What's going on?"

"Sorry Malark, I don't have time for small talk right now," she said scrambling off of Toy's lap and out of the hole.

"Well where the hell you goin' in such a hurry?" Bill asked.

"To tell Luz how I feel about him!" she said not even caring if all of Easy Company heard.

The three men looked at each other, surprise written across their faces. Then they smiled.

"Well it's about damn time!" Malarkey shouted after her.

_**Yay! ok now review!**_


	28. Guarnere and Toye

_**Hey all my friends! Next chapter is up!  
Thank you to all my readers and reviewers! Love you all!**_

Adriana heard Malarkey and she knew he was right. It was about damn time Luz knew how she felt about him. It wasn't fair to either of them that she had waited that long. She stumbled around for far too long before she finally had to catch her breath before she could continue. She leaned against a tree and looked at the distant German line just in time to see smoke rolling into the sky. She realized what was happening just a few seconds before she heard Lip's warning.

"INCOMING!" he yelled, his voice echoing around from everywhere.

Buck's warning yell followed.

"Find some cover!" Lip shouted running past her.

She jumped up, pushing Luz and her feelings to the back of her mind. She ran around pushing men into foxholes, calling the same warnings Lip and Buck were calling.

"They've got us zeroed!" she shouted to no one in particular. "Find some cover!"

As the words were out of her mouth, a tree above her burst sending her sprawling to the ground. She covered her head and waited a second for the branches to finish falling and to make sure she wasn't injured. When she uncovered her face, she spotted Babe trip and get back up, only to fall again. She scrambled forward on her hands and knees, colliding with Babe and knocking him into a foxhole, just as a tree exploded and fell, trapping them beneath it. Adriana couldn't believe she was stuck under a tree for the second time since they had been in the snowy hell. Luckily this whole was deeper so she and Babe had more room, but not much.

"Hey there Rosie. Glad you showed up," he said with a smile.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Yeah I'll be fine. You?"

"For now I'm good. We have to get out of here."

"What the hell for?" he asked. "We are safe for now."

They both instinctively covered the other's head as a particularly close explosion rocked the ground. It was only a few seconds later that the bombs stopped falling and Lip and Buck could be heard shouting, "Stay in your foxholes!" and "Stay down!"

Lip sounded close. Adriana glanced at Babe then they both sat up and started yelling for help.

"Help!" Babe yelled. "Anyone there?"

"Lip get us out! Lip!" Adriana yelled.

At first Adriana thought their cries were going unnoticed, but soon Lip's voice was right outside the tree.

"Hang on," he was saying. "Who is that?"

"Its Adriana and Babe!" Adriana yelled.

She was seriously tired of trees.

"Hang on guys," Lip said.

From underneath, Babe and Adriana could see the tree moving and patches of light coming through. They could hear Muck's voice then saw his hand as he reached into the opening. Adriana took his hand and felt herself being lifted out.

"I must have got Adriana," Muck said, a smirk in his voice. "Either that or Babe has gotten prettier."

Adriana gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Muck," she said as Lip pulled Babe out.

"Jesus you think I over did it on the cover for my foxhole?" Babe asked making Muck laugh.

The joy was short lived because the Germans were sending another barrage the American's way.

"INCOMING!" Lip shouted again. "get some cover!"

Adriana dashed away from them because their foxhole was full she realized. She was aiming for a foxhole with Luz in it, but instead what she found made her heart stop beating momentarily. There was a blood trail from a clearing leading out into the trees. Next to the large pool of red snow, there was a man's leg. Her mind was racing. She was good, but she couldn't tell who it was by the lower half of their leg. Luz popped to her mind first, then she went down the line. She had just seen Muck, Lip and Babe, so that ruled them out, but that left every other Toccoa man out there. She forced her heart to slow, in turn making her breathing slow, but she couldn't stop the tears that were forming in her eyes so she let them fall.

She stepped slowly forward, forgetting about the bombs that were falling around her. The only thing on her mind was which man she was going to find dead at the end of the blood trail. Later she would realize how stupid she was being, noting the bombs that could kill her if they landed even remotely close, but she wasn't thinking. She was running each of her brother's through her head saying a mental goodbye to them if she didn't get the chance. Finally she rounded a pile of trees and saw Bill dragging a one legged Toye through the snow to Buck's foxhole.

"Come on! Get over here!" Buck was screaming. "You're gonna get bombed!"

Suddenly the whole world seemed to come back and hit Adriana in the face. She had been in slow motion, all the sounds drown out and everything sluggish, but now everything was happening so quickly. Buck noticed her and shouted something at her, but she wasn't listening. She ran forward to help, not saying anything as she did. Guarnere saw her too and a wave of relief seemed to wash over him, but it only lasted a split second. An artillery shell hit Bill and Joe sending Adriana flying backward. She had only been a few yards from Toye when the shell hit, and she got the full force of it without actually being blown apart, but because she was so close, she felt like her eardrums exploded with the shell. She flew through the air and hit a tree with more force than she thought anyone's body could handle. She felt a rib on her left side crack when she impacted with the tree. She fell to the ground and lay in the snow for a full minute before she could move. During that minute, she struggled drawing in a breath. She was afraid her lungs collapsed and she was going to die. She cursed herself for the fact that she had made it two years in this war and she was going to die from a collapsed lung, but finally she felt a real breath enter her lungs.

She coughed which sent tendrils of pain up her side and made tears roll down her cheeks. She was lying on her side, cheek pressed into the snow so she rolled over, taking care not to jostle her broken rib. Finally, after a bit of maneuvering, she was on her back looking at the cloudy sky, the snow falling on her face. It registered with Adriana that the barrage was still going on and she needed to get to safety so she began to drag herself to the foxhole on the other side of the tree she had hit. She rolled into it, crying out as her rib stabbed her side.

She lay in the hole, curled into the fetal position whimpering mostly out of pain, but tears were running down her face because she knew there was no way Bill and Joe lived through a direct explosion. She squeezed her eyes closed praying she would feel someone's warm chest under her and protective arms around her back, but no one came. No Easy man happened to fall into her hole, and no one was searching for her. This realization made her cry harder. Before she knew it, she was sobbing like a child, her weeping causing unending pain in her side.

Finally the barrage stopped and Adriana opened her eyes. She felt her tears freezing on her face but she couldn't have cared less. She gingerly peaked over the edge of the hole searching the clearing for bodies. She found them at once and new tears fell. Bill and Joe were lying in the snow, Joe draped over Bill. Adriana got to her feet, falling once as she climbed out of the hole. He held her left side with her right hand, pushing in and up making the searing pain bearable. Her breathing was heavy as she approached the still forms of her friends. Until she was right in front of them, she hadn't noticed Buck coming from the opposite direction.

"MEDIC!" he screamed as he dropped his rifle and took his helmet off.

Adriana looked up at him, her stomach turning. He didn't meet her eyes. His gaze was trained on his best friends. Adriana looked back and knelt next to Bill. She took note of his injuries. Realizing it was only his leg that was hurt her hope that he was alive rose slightly. She leaned over his face and cupped it between her palms.

"Bill?" she croaked.

She cleared her throat and tried again.

"Bill?"

Her voice didn't sound much better, but he opened his eyes.

"Rosie?" he wheezed.

"Yeah Bill," she said tears continuing to run down her cheeks and drip off into the snow.

Bill tried to sit up, but Adriana held him down and shouted for a medic.

"Where'm I hurt?" he asked trying again to sit up.

"You don't want to see it Bill," Adriana cautioned him.

"The hell I don't," he said and she finally helped him.

He sharply sucked in a breath. So did Adriana. His right leg was mangled from the knee down, but at least it was still there. Joe Toye was not so lucky. Adriana didn't even know if he was still alive. As Adriana was about to yell for Roe again, he appeared out of the trees. He instantly got to work on Joe, who woke up as soon as Roe started treating his leg, or lack of.

"How do we look Rosie?" Bill asked shivering.

"Like a million bucks," she said helping him sit up and lean against a tree.

He yelped as his trembling body, jostled his leg. Adriana let go of her side to help him, but was painfully reminded why her hand was there. Luckily, Bill didn't see her react. He didn't need anything else to worry about. She put her free hand on his hand, and he took it.

"How did you manage to live through a direct explosion?" she asked smiling feebly at him.

"Just lucky I guess," he said, his voice shaking.

Just then Malarkey appeared behind Roe. He immediately dropped to his knees next to Toye and held him up. Toye was writhing and shouting in pain.

"Doc what can I do?" Malarkey asked.

"Hold this," Roe said indicating a gauze pad on the end of Joe's stump.

Malarkey looked like he might hurl, but did as Roe instructed. Toye leaned back into his friend and asked him for a smoke. Malarkey instantly complied, throwing off his glove and reaching inside his jacket.

"Jesus, what's a guy gotta do to get killed around here?" Joe asked grimacing.

"Bill you're going first," Roe said as men with stretchers came into view.

"Whatever you say Doc," Bill said squeezing Adriana's hand. "Whatever you say."

"Over here!" Roe yelled. "Take this man."

The men with stretchers came up and prepared to lift Bill just as Lip came into view.

"Hey Lip," Bill greeted him. "They got old Guarnere this time."

Adriana fought back a sob as he was lifted onto the stretcher but wasn't successful. Bill looked at her and put a big paw on her cheek. Adriana was always surprised at how gentle Bill always was with her.

"I love you Rosie girl."

Adriana felt her bottom lip begin to tremble as she put her hand on his.

"Don't you dare cry for me. I'm beatin' Joe back to the states!"

His voice was shaking from pain, but he was sincere. He ran his thumb over her cheek for a second before he was lifted and taken away from her. She stayed on her knees as he was taken through the trees.

"Hey Bill!" she called making the stretcher bearers stop so Bill could see her. "You raise hell in the hospital and get back to us!"

A smile spread over the worn face under his beard. He nodded and blew her a kiss and then he was gone. She turned back and looked at her trembling hands. The place on her face where Bill's hand had been previously seemed colder than the rest of her. Suddenly she heard a voice and spun around, causing her rib to protest painfully.

"Hey Lip," Luz said walking up.

Adriana watched him stop and stare unbelievingly at Toye and his missing limb.

"How's Buck?" Lip asked him.

No response.

"Luz! How's Buck?"

"He's fine," Luz said letting out a deep breath.

"You sure?"

"Yes he's fine. But you should probably go talk to him."

Lip sighed and patted Luz's shoulder and Adriana turned back around to stare at the place Bill had been. She let her head fall forward and something tickled her cheek. She opened her eyes and brushed a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. She reached up and felt her head, realizing her helmet was not on. During all the commotion, it must have come off. She reached up and pulled the rubber band out of the tangled mess and let the long, dirty curls fall about her shoulders. What she would give for a shower. As she sat examining her hair and how long it had gotten, when she felt a touch on the back of her neck.

"I haven't seen your hair in a few months," Luz said smiling down at her.

She looked up at him sadly.

"Guarnere's gonna be fine," Luz said. "Joe too."

Adriana nodded and leaned her head against his hip. He grinned and smoothed her hair and drew circles on her exposed neck with his pointer finger. Luz felt strange. He was happy as hell she was alive, but he was almost tired of trying to take care of her. He immediately cursed himself for thinking that, but it was something that kept nagging at him. After a second he pulled away from her and knelt down to her level.

"Come on Bell, let's find a foxhole."

She nodded and allowed him to help her up until she drew a sharp breath and clutched his jacket.

"Whatsa matter?" Luz asked, suddenly worried.

"My rib," she said, pain in her voice and on her face. "I think it broke when I hit the tree."

"When you did what?" he asked confused.

"The explosion that hurt Bill and Joe. It knocked me into a tree."

"Well it's nothing a little rest won't fix," Luz said with a smile. "Come on. I have a foxhole and a blanket with your name on it."

She sucked in a shaky breath and with Luz's help, made it back to their old foxhole. Perconte was nowhere to be found so they were free to just get in and sleep, but suddenly Adriana remembered her earlier conversation with Buck. She turned to Luz, mind afraid, but heart ready.

"Luz," she whispered getting his attention.

He turned dark, tired eyes on her. She eased her way across the small hole so she was in front of him.

"I love you."

The three little words were the most dangerous words Adriana had ever said and the fact that Luz didn't say anything immediately terrified her further. Her hear began to beat faster and she felt sweat on her brow despite the cold. Luz was staring at her open mouthed, trying to decipher the real meaning the three little words held. Finally he decided to just go with it.

"I love you too," he answered smiling.

Her expression was priceless. Her eyes curved into a smile before her lips did. Luz laughed and gently pulled her against his chest. He felt her let out a breath against his neck as she tried to get comfortable with her rib hurting. Finally after some maneuvering, she settled against his side. He snaked an arm behind her neck and came to rest on her hip.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked lightly tapping the area he knew the bullet had been.

She shook her head, her hair tickling him.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around," she said quietly.

Luz felt the familiar pang of sadness and rejection whenever she dodged him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

"Yes you do," she said.

He felt her move then felt her lips against his neck.

"I have seen your eyes when I make up an excuse to leave, or I don't talk to you for days. I'm sorry. All of that is over."

Luz looked down at her and met her eyes.

"It's alright," he answered hugging her closer.

She placed a kiss on his jaw. She smiled at his beard under her lips.

"Go to sleep," he whispered. "You have had a long day."

It was true she had. All of Easy company had, and she was content to fall asleep knowing Luz was there with her. Unfortunately what she didn't know was that she was in for a long day the next day two days as well.

The next morning Adriana woke up in the same position she had fallen asleep in, which gave her a serious crick in her neck, not to mention the rib that was broken. Luz was awake.

"Good morning Bell," he said quietly.

"Yeah? What's so good about it?" she asked trying to work out the kink in her neck.

"I woke up with the woman of my dreams in my arms," he answered smoothly.

Adriana smirked at him and drew her finger across his cheek.

"Your hair is getting long," she said brushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"So's yours," he said running a hand through it and lightly tugging on it.

She grinned and inclined her head so he could place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Listen," she said getting serious. "I have to go talk to Winters and check on the guys after I get this damn rib looked at. I'll see you later?"

"Count on it," he said with a wide grin.

He put a hand on her cheek, his fingers extending to the back of her neck. He watched her eyes, fully intending on kissing her, but she put her hand on his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered then placed a quick kiss on his cheek and scampered out of the hole.

"You're a tease you know that!" he shouted after her smiling.

Adriana fully regretted moving quickly to get out of the hole. As she walked around trying to find Roe, her breathing became heavier and heavier. Finally, when she was about to collapse from the pain, Roe seemed to pop up in front of her.

"Jesus Doc," she said. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Roe asked.

"Pop up whenever someone seems to need you."

"Are you alright?" he asked seeing the pain written on her face.

Immediately he touched her forehead.

"It's not my head that is injured," Adriana said with a smile. "During the last barrage I got thrown into a tree and I think I broke my rib."

"Well lemme see," Roe said gently taking her arm and leading her to his hole.

Once there Roe instructed her to take off her jacket and button down leaving her shivering in her thin t-shirt. Roe spread a blanket behind her and had her lay down.

"So tell me again what happened," he said as he began feeling her left side.

She was surprised at how warm his hands were as he began working. She watched him for a moment, starting at her lower rib and working up, gently pushing on each of them.

"I saw a pool of blood and it looked like someone crawled away so I followed the blood track and found Guarnere dragging Toye who was missing his leg. I – ouch!"

"Sorry," Roe apologized. "I found the broken rib."

"Great, well I went to help, but they got bombed and the force of the bomb threw me into a tree."

"Get a bandage out of my bag," he instructed as he lifted her shirt a little way.

She did and handed it to him.

"Sit up."

He helped her up and began to tightly wrap her middle. A sharp intake of breath told Roe it was working.

"You're gonna have to take it easy for awhile," Roe said knowing full well, she wouldn't.

"I'll try," she promised.

"In fact, I'm going to talk to Winters and see if we can't get you a spot in his tent to rest."

"Aww come on Doc! I have to be out here with the boys!" Adriana complained.

"You can't help anyone if you fall down in the middle of the attack on Foy because your rib stabbed your lung. One day. That's all," he said firmly.

"Alright," Adriana finally agreed.

She didn't have much of a choice when Roe set his mind to something. After he finished wrapping her ribs, he got up and helped her out of the hole. Adriana had to agree she did feel better but a rest in the HQ tent was going to be worth it. She and Roe to the tent quickly and went in. Winters and Nixon were pouring over maps and talking quickly when they noticed the two newcomers.

"Roe. Lt. Roosevelt. What can we do for you two?"

"Well sir, Adriana broke a rib and she needs to rest for a day. I wouldn't even bother you sir, except I'm worried if she goes back out to the front, she won't rest. I figured if anyone could keep her out of the fight for a day, it would be you."

Winters nodded and beckoned Adriana to the cot behind him.

"We will keep her here Doc," Nixon said with a grin. "Don't you worry about that."

"Thank you Roe," Winters said nodding.

"Yes sir," Roe said and started to leave.

"Thanks Doc," Adriana said. "I owe you another one."

He smiled and left.

"You know I don't think I have seen any man get hurt as much as you have in the last two years," Nixon said his grin widening.

"Well yah know. Just lucky I guess," Adriana said easing her way up onto the cot.

"Get some sleep Lt. Looks like you could use it," Winters said.

"I could sir. Thank you."

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	29. Muck and Penkala

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Adriana had ended up spending two days in the HQ tent with frequent visits from Luz and almost as many from Doc Roe. Finally Roe let her go on the night of the second day. Luz was there and he promised to keep her away from strenuous activity. The first thing they did was go get some chow then Luz said he had a story to tell her and the boys. She and Luz walked through the freezing forest until they found Malarkey, Muck and Penkala. Luz gathered them into a tight circle and began his tale.

"You fellas know I got no reason to bullshit you right?"

They all laughed at how seriously he said that.

"I'm not gonna bullshit yah, this is what I saw."

Adriana tried to contain her laughter as he began.

"It's so unbelievable, you might not believe me," he said. "So you know who comes running up to Lipton, no helmet, no gear no nothing. 'First Sergeant Lipton, you organize things here, and I'm gonna go… for… help.'"

The four of them snickered at Luz's impeccable impression of Lt. Dyke.

"That's really good," Malarkey complimented him as Lipton called Luz over.

He and Adriana bid the boys goodnight, then went to Lip.

"What can I do for yah sarge?" Luz asked.

"Two things," Lip said. "First, great impression of Dyke."

Adriana laughed.

"Yah think so?" Luz asked. "I thought I was a little off."

"Naw yah got it pretty good. Second, don't do it anymore. Especially the part about what he said to me, okay? It doesn't do anybody any good."

"Yeah I got yah," Luz said.

"Good," Lip said turning to walk off.

Before he did however, Luz did a really good impression of Dyke yawning, earning a snicker and a 'wise ass' from Lip. Luz and Adriana turned and headed for their foxhole, Adriana's arm looped through his. Before they had even gotten two feet, the ground shook with the beginning of another barrage. Luz and Adriana were thrown off their feet by a tree burst behind them. They both landed on their faces, the air knocked from their lungs. Adriana cried out and rolled over holding the side of her body her broken rib was on.

The forest lit up like a bright summer day every few seconds as the bombs exploded in the tops of trees sending shrapnel and shards of wood raining down on Easy. Luz hauled Adriana to her feet and drug her along behind him as the shelling continued. Twice Luz lost his balance and took them both down. Finally he just stayed down army crawled toward Muck and Penkala's hole. He had Adriana by the back of the overcoat and Muck and Penkala were urging him on.

"LUZ COME ON! MOVE IT!" Penkala was shouting.

"Hurry up!"

Luz was concentrating on nothing besides hurrying, but the woman at his side was practically incompetent from the pain in her side. As they made their way slowly toward the hole, Adriana was suddenly startled by the quiet. She looked up and Muck and Penkala's foxhole was empty. She glanced at Luz who was whiter than a sheet. He turned frightened eyes on her, and it only took her a moment to realize what had happened. Tears sprung to her eyes, asking Luz an unspoken question. His gaze confirmed it.

The two lay in the snow, staring at one another for a second then Luz seemed to get his head together. He stood up and pulled her with him in the other direction where he knew they would find another hole. He fell yet again and crawled toward a hole containing Lip. A scene flashed before his eyes as he crawled.

_The scene was mute. Muck and Penkala were motioning him forward, trying to make him hurry. He looked back for a second at Adriana, whose eyes were closed against the pain, then back just in time to see his friends disintegrate in a flameless explosion. The sudden silence was too much for him to bear. He glanced at his Lt. She hadn't seen it happen, but she had heard the sudden lack of their voices. She was asking him a question he wished he didn't have to answer. He saw tears begin to fill her eyes as the realization hit her. Suddenly he remembered how easily his friends had gotten blown away, so he stood and ran for another foxhole._

He came back to reality as Lip was dragging him and Adriana into his foxhole. The three huddled together in the hole under some meager reinforcements of logs and rocks. Lip had an arm around both of them, their faces very close.

"MUCK AND PENKALA!" Luz yelled to Lip. "MUCK AND PENKALA GOT HIT!"

As he yelled this, a mortar hit just outside the hole throwing their covering off of them and hurting Adriana's ears. Lip and Luz threw themselves over Adriana, who put an arm around each of them, just needing the closeness of another person. She remembered well her encounter in the foxhole alone. Their foreheads were pressed together, their quick, labored breathing on each other's faces. Suddenly, as quick as it had begun, the shelling stopped. Lip and Luz leaned away from Adriana, but only slightly. A sudden thud on the edge of the foxhole across from them made them all jump. Only when she realized the three of them had just cheated death did Adriana's mouth fall open. Adriana relaxed against Luz's chest, feeling his quick breathing.

They watched the dud carefully as Luz whipped out his pack of Lucky Strikes and handed Adriana two, lit them and took one for himself. Adriana took a long, shaky drag off hers then had it taken out of her hand by Lip.

"I thought you didn't smoke," Luz said, his voice shaking.

"I don't," Lip answered taking another drag off the cigarette.

"Uh-hu," Luz answered and handed Adriana another cancer stick.

He lit it and that is where they stayed that night, all three expecting the dud to explode. Then next morning Adriana crawled out of the foxhole, leaving Lip and Luz, and walked around looking for men she hoped were still alive. In less than a week they had lost Toye, Guarnere and Buck to injuries, and Muck and Penkala were dead. She decided she needed to take inventory of her men. Everyone else seemed to be alive. Finally she went to check out the one foxhole she never wanted to lay eyes on. When she got there, Malarkey was already standing over it.

"Hey Malark," She greeted him.

He didn't look up only put out a hand to her. She slid her ungloved hand into his and he looked at her. His pale face showed off his sunken eyes and red beard. His face was tear stained. Adriana could see the pain in his eyes as he gazed at her. She gave him a sideways smile, but it was only half hearted. He grinned sadly and pulled her into him. She felt his body begin to tremble and she squeezed his waist. He smiled into her hair as her small frame held him upright as his body was suddenly rocked by sobs. He no longer produced tears because he had been crying so much, but sobs still attacked him now and again. He and Adriana stood in the middle of the foxhole his two best friends had died in crying for them.

Adriana took a deep breath and leaned away from him to look up. He patted her cheek.

"Glad the one that hit your hole was a dud," he said genuinely.

She shook her head and kissed him on the cheek, his scruffy beard tickling her face.

"You should try to get some rest," Adriana said to him as she walked away.

He shrugged then turned around. She watched him kneel and pick up a cross that belonged to Penkala. She shook her head again and turned away only to run into Lip.

"How is he?" the sergeant asked.

"In less than a week he lost his four best friends. How would you be," Adriana asked truthfully.

"Like shit," Lip answered. "I better talk to him."

Adriana nodded and watched him go. She watched Lip talk at him for a few minutes, then hand him Hoob's Luger. That seemed to cheer him up a little Adriana sighed and went to find the one person she knew could make her feel better. She found him in their foxhole with Perconte. They were quietly working at reinforcing their foxhole, cigarettes hanging from their lips. She approached quietly. Neither of them looked up so she leaned against a tree.

"How are yah boys?" she asked quietly.

They both jumped and looked up at her with terrified eyes until they realized it was her. They relaxed a little.

"Heya Rosie," Perconte greeted her.

"Are you ok?" Luz asked seeing her pale expression.

"I'm worried about Malark," she said grabbing her entrenching tool and helping them dig.

"Well hell he lost his four best friends in under a week. It's only natural he is sad," Perconte said offering her a drag.

She gladly accepted and shrugged. She held the smoke in her lungs for a few seconds then let it out between her teeth. Luz watched the cloud dissipate then looked back at her face.

"But how are you?" Luz asked.

"I'll be fine," Adriana assured him. "I mean Christ Luz, the shell that hit us was a dud remember?"

Perconte looked at his friend alarmed. Apparently Luz hadn't told him about his, Adriana's and Lip's brush with death.

"Still," she said leaning heavily on her entrenching tool. "I think I'll have Roe look at my rib."

"We should do it now," Luz said straightening up.

Adriana shook her head.

"I'll go. You boys stay here. I'll be back as soon as Roe fixes me up. Don't worry Luz," she added when she saw his face. "I'll be fine."

She climbed out of the hole and off to find Roe.

An hour later she slid back down into the hole between two sleeping men, neither of which woke up when she slid in between them. She knew the attack on Foy was the next day, and she knew she should be out checking on the men, but all she really wanted to do was sleep, wrapped in Luz's arms, because she wasn't sure if she would ever get do it again, but that was not to be.

Someone showed up on the edge of the foxhole. Adriana pretended to be asleep, hoping they would just go away, but they began whispering her name. Finally they went around the other side and gripped her shoulder. Unless she wanted them to think she was dead, she knew she had to acknowledge them. She stirred and turned to look at them.

"Sorry to disturb you Roosevelt."

It was Winters.

"Not at all sir," she said standing.

Winters helped her out of the hole and she followed him a little ways away. Adriana recognized Lt. Foley standing with Lt. Shames and Lipton standing in a clearing a little ways off. She nodded to them in turn.

"Foley, Shames, Lip. What's up?"

"I just wanted to make sure everyone knew what they were doing tomorrow. Shames, you will be with Lt. Dyke in 3rd Platoon. Lip, you will be leading 2nd platoon and Roosevelt, you will be leading 1st Platoon. Foley will be with Roosevelt. Is that clear?"

There were nods all around.

"Roosevelt, is there something wrong?" Winters asked.

Adriana didn't even know she was showing what she was feeling.

"It's nothing sir," Adriana said after a moments deliberation.

"Tell me now Roosevelt," Winters said, his voice warning.

"Sir, I'm just worried about Dyke not being able to take it sir."

"Well Lt. Roosevelt, Dyke is not your responsibility. He's mine," Winters said to her. "That goes for everyone. All any of you need to do is worry about your men. Is that clear?"

They all nodded.

"Good," Winters said. "Dismissed."

Shames and Lip left, but Adriana caught Foley's arm. He turned sparkling blue eyes on her.

"I look forward to leading the men of first platoon in with you," she said formally and put out a hand.

Foley smiled and took it.

"Adriana, don't be so formal. Some men-" Foley leaned forward and he whispered. "like Shames, don't care for women in power. I say, as long as you can handle yourself and Easy Company in battle, then by all means, lead first Platoon, second Platoon, hell lead the whole damn company for all I care. I'm just glad I'm not with Dyke."

Adriana found herself smiling uncontrollably at him. He grinned and let go of her hand.

"Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Goodnight," she called after him.

He waved over his shoulder and she returned to her foxhole. Luz was awake when she got there.

"Where yah been?" he asked.

Adriana could tell he was trying to me nonchalant, but was really worried about her.

"Winters was briefing us on the attack tomorrow," Adriana said quietly as not to wake Perconte.

"And?" Luz asked.

"And… I'll be leading First Platoon into Foy with Lt. Foley. Lip has second and Shames is with Dyke leading third."

Luz sighed.

"What?" Adriana asked. "You sad I'm leading a Platoon into Foy?"

She grinned but Luz was serious.

"It's dangerous," he said putting a hand on her knee.

"Dangerous?" she barked.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Anything the government wants us to do is damn dangerous. Leading men into battle is just as dangerous as being led into battle."

Luz just shook his head. Adriana frowned and drew her finger down his cheek.

"I could be worried about you yah know," she said.

"But-"

"You know what, but nothing," Adriana interrupted. "You don't get to be worried about me, without me getting to be worried about you. That's the way this goes. If you don't like it… well if you don't like it then tough. That's just the way it is."

Luz was grinning. He reached out a hand and placed it on her cheek.

"I like it," he smiled.

He put the other hand on her opposite cheek then pulled her face toward him. He put his lips against her forehead.

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop worrying about you. Ever."

She smiled and nodded.

"We need to sleep. Tomorrow is… well tomorrow is going to be tough."

"Sleep sounds nice," he said leaning away and pulling her against his chest.

Adriana thought about conversing with Luz, but she didn't have time to initiate anything because she was soon asleep. Luz could tell the moment she was out because her breathing changed. She relaxed fully against him and let out a long sigh. He kissed her forehead and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes, then let sleep take him.

That night he was plagued with dreams of the impending attack on Foy. One in particular. _He was running through the field and couldn't see Adriana. He wasn't worried until Perconte came on his radio and said, "Adri's hurt! Luz, you are the only one who can save her! Hurry!" Luz instantly dropped his radio and flew out onto the field, people behind him shouting his name. He felt hot led rip through his shoulder and another through his leg but it didn't stop him. He ran in circles until he found Adriana barley clinging to life in the hands of Lt. Foley. "Hey Bell," he whispered gently touching her face._

"_Your too late," she said glaring at him. "I'm dead because of you."_

_ Luz watched in horror as blood spilled from her eyes, nose, mouth and ears._

"_I'M DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" she shouted. "I LOVED YOU AND YOU LET ME DIE!"_

"_I didn't-" Luz began, but was silenced by her small hand around his throat._

"_You deserve DEATH!" she yelled in his face._

"_Bell, please, I-"_

"Luz! Luz wake up!"

Luz sat up straight practically colliding with Adriana. Her brow was furrowed and her blue eyes worried.

"Luz are you ok? You were having a nightmare," she said gently touching his face.

He watched her hand carefully. That was the hand that had been around his neck. His usually calm eyes were wide and afraid. She saw his fear and drew back slightly.

"Luz," Adriana said feeling herself begin to get worried. "What's wrong?"

Suddenly Luz seemed to snap out of it.

"It was just a dream," Luz said then cleared his throat. "I'm alright."

He tried to smile, but Adriana frowned at him. She wanted him to tell her what was wrong, besides having to attack Foy that day, but she didn't have time. Lt. Foley jogged by and slid to a stop, surprised to see her still in a foxhole on the morning of the invasion.

"Hey Roosevelt. Winters wants us. Luz you better get ready too. The assault is in less than an hour."

"I'll be right there," Adriana promised.

Foley nodded and continued through the forest and Adriana turned back to her shell shocked man.

"You're sure you're ok?" she asked reaching for his hand.

He closed the space and took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"I'm fine."

A smile broke across Adriana's face and she took his face between her hands and placed a kiss gently on his cheek.

"What I don't get a real kiss before we go into battle?" he asked only half joking.

Adriana pulled her face away from him and looked thoughtfully into his eyes for a minute, then grinned.

"Nope."

Luz shook his head and laughed as she climbed from the foxhole.

"You're a damn tease!" he shouted after her before he collapsed back into the hole.

Adriana giggled at herself and at Luz. How she wished she could kiss him, but she knew it would be better to wait. Less of a distraction for everyone. She ran up to the group of leaders gathered around Winters. She greeted Winters, Foley and Lip, but left Shames out of the greeting.

"Are you all ready?" Winters asked.

They nodded while Adriana absently thought that he had been asking them that a lot recently. She couldn't help thinking that it might be some other reason besides just the fact they were about to go into battle.

"I want this to be clean. Easy company has a good tradition of winning battles. This one is no different."

"Excuse me sir, but it is," Lt. Shames blurted.

"Is there something you need to say Lt?" Winters asked, turning calm eyes on him.

"Its Lt. Dyke sir. He is going to get us all killed," Shames said.

Adriana couldn't believe what she was hearing. He seemed to have lost his mind. No one talked to their CO like that and got away with it. Winters wasn't in any mood for Shame's bullshit, but he couldn't reprimand him because he needed someone to be with Dyke on the attack.

"Let me worry about Dyke. You will be fine. Just lead your Platoons and-"

"That's another thing," Shames interrupted.

Winters sighed and wetted his lips.

"Why the hell does _she _get to lead a Platoon?" he spat gesturing to Adriana.

"Why shouldn't she?" Winters asked patiently.

"Yeah, why the hell shouldn't I?" Adriana asked.

She was ready to knock Shames into next week.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked incredulously. "She is a she. Women don't have what it takes to be in battle. I think it has been pretty obvious with her that she is only here because her daddy wants her to be."

Adriana's mouth fell open.

"You stupid, arrogant, no good, son of a bitch. What makes you so much better than-"

"Roosevelt," Winters said stopping her mid sentence.

She looked up at him then stepped away from Shames. She suddenly realized that both Lip and Foley had their hands on her arms. She relaxed a little and Winters dismissed the three of them.

"Go make sure your men are ready. We attack in half an hour."

"Yes sir," they said.

The three turned and Foley elbowed Adriana.

"He's just sore he has to be with Dyke," he said grinning.

Adriana sighed.

"You're one of the best leaders Easy has had," Lip assured her. "Every time I turn around, you're helping someone."

She looked up at him with a sideways smile on her face.

"I have no doubt that you will keep all your boys safe today," Foley remarked. "Including me."

Adriana squeezed his arm and went off to find her boys. She talked to Liebgott, Bull, Perco, Martin and Rameriz before she finally when to find the man she desperately wanted to see. She found him hanging near Dyke wringing his hands together waiting. She smiled at the quality she had come to love. He spotted her and left Dyke's side. He didn't seem to care. He was yawning.

"Hey. Only a few minutes now," he said shivering slightly. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," she flashing a smile at him.

"Listen, just don't take to many risks out there alright?"

She smiled.

"As long as you do the same."

He agreed with a nod. There was a few seconds where they just stood and looked at one another, then Luz pulled her into him. He buried his face in her hair and took a breath. He felt her hands come up around his neck and comb through his hair.

"We are both going to come out of this fine," she said against his cheek.

It sounded like she was trying to convince herself of it more than anything.

"We better," Luz said. "We better."

He felt her breath against his neck then he breathed. A second later, Dyke was calling him away. the chaos was almost upon them.

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	30. Into Foy

**_Hi there! New chapter is up!  
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Love all you guys!  
I own nothing!_**

Adriana kissed Luz on the cheek.

"Be careful."

"_YOU _be careful," he said patting her cheek gently.

She nodded then let his hand go as he walked away toward Dyke. She watched him for a second then turned to Lt. Foley and first Platoon. She hunkered down between Foley and Perconte and waited. She watched the Germans through a thin layer of falling snow. They seemed to know something was coming. They were running from cover to cover trying to get the best position on the descending Americans. As Adriana was planning out a map of where she was going to run, Lt. Dyke began running out onto the field followed by Shames and third Platoon. It had begun.

Adriana took a breath and followed them, Lip and second close behind her.

"Let's go!" she yelled as the machine guns began firing.

She looked behind her to see Martin on her heels, Perconte and Bull behind him and Liebgott and Ramirez off to the right. All were hauling ass.

"KEEP MOVING!" Lip called looking behind him, waving everyone forward.

Adriana kept her eyes on where she was going. A haystack, and a chicken coop was the only protection First Platoon had until they got into town. She registered Foley yelling at the men behind her to stay tight. Adriana could feel the frozen air making her throat raw as she dragged in lungfuls of it. Her hurt rib was protesting painfully, but she didn't stop to think about it. She tripped over something she hadn't seen and went down to one knee. For being a Paratrooper in Easy company, she realized she was very uncoordinated. She didn't even have time to think about getting up before Bull had an arm under hers and was hauling her to her feet. There was an unspoken thank you passed between them and they continued running.

The Germans had their 88's trained on the field and were making craters. One exploded behind Adriana sending her stumbling a few steps but she stayed up. She spun around making sure she still had all of First Platoon. When she did a quick head count and realized she had one less than she started with, it only spurred her forward.

"Move it!" she shouted. "Go faster!"

She physically moved a few men faster before she started to run again. She glanced around at the field and all the Easy men on it. They were all running for their lives, all but one. Dyke was standing stupidly in the middle of the field. To Adriana's horror, she realized before she saw, that Luz had to stay with Dyke at all times.

"Foxhole Norman is going to get him killed," she hissed between her teeth.

No matter how much she wanted to stay and make sure Luz was alright, she had to lead First Platoon. She tore her eyes away from the ridiculous scene and charged after her men. She heard the call of, 'Krauts in the open,' just as she caught up to Ramirez. She darted to the chicken coop and looked at Liebgott.

"Three inside," he said.

The men of First Platoon knelt and found cover while Adriana figured out what to do about the Germans hiding in the barn. She put Liebgott in front of the door while Bull tossed a grenade in a broken slat. The building exploded, bursting the door open, at which time Liebgott opened fire on anything that was still living. Adriana nodded and was about to continue the assault into town when Perconte grabbed her arm. He handed her the radio receiver. She put it to her ear where she heard Lt. Dyke's voice screaming at her.

"Roosevelt, you get back here where I can see you, god damn it!"

1234

Luz was not having a picnic. Lt. Dyke was going painfully slow down the middle of the open field. Luz was trying to keep an eye on where the 88 was pointed while also trying to make Dyke hurry while simultaneously trying to watch Adriana. Luz thought they might make it, but about halfway in, Dyke stopped in the middle of the field. Luz's mind was screaming at him to move forward or at least find some cover while Dyke was mumbling something about not being able to find Adriana.

"Hold up!" Dyke yelled frantically to second Platoon.

Luz rolled his eyes and looked forward at the rest of Easy. He saw Lip go down on one knee holding up a fist for the rest of second to see. He glanced over his shoulder to glare at Dyke.

"Get me Roosevelt on the radio," he said to Luz.

Luz felt an electric pulse go through him at the mention of her name.

"Sir I think we should find some cover," Luz said while dialing the numbers.

"What?" Dyke asked just as an explosion came far too close for comfort to them.

"Easy Red, Easy Red six over," he said into the radio trying to hail Perconte as they ran for cover.

"Six, Easy Red go ahead," Perconte came back almost at once.

Dyke and Luz hit a haystack just as another explosion rocked their old position.

"Easy Red, Easy Red, stand by for the six," he said and handed the phone off to Dyke.

"Roosevelt? Roosevelt get back her where I can see you god damn it!" he shouted.

Luz bristled. He didn't like the way Dyke was talking to her. Luz took the receiver back in time to hear her groan. He pulled off his gloves to put the receiver away as Dyke was screaming to fall back. Luz watched the chaos around him. Men were scattered running back and forth, getting blown up or shot, and there was nothing he could do about it. Lip suddenly appeared asking what the hell was going on.

"FALL BACK!" Dyke was screaming.

1234

"First Platoon, hold up!" Adriana shouted. "Take cover! Foley stay. Martin! On me!"

The orders were followed and Adriana left her cover and ran for Dyke, Martin on her tail. They managed to make it through unharmed and find Dyke with little problems. He was cowering behind a haystack with a livid Lipton at his side. She and Martin slid to a stop next to Luz, who was instantly happy to see her alive. She gave him a small smile before she asked Dyke what the plan was. It was ridiculous the way Luz made her feel, even in the heat of battle.

"I don't know I Don't Know, I DON'T KNOW!"

Everyone looked at him stunned when Luz suddenly realized Winters was trying to get through on the radio.

"Roger kidnap, standby for six," he said and held the receiver out to Dyke.

"What are we doing Lt?" Lip asked gruffly.

"You better get Dyke on that radio to me now," came Winter's icy voice in Luz's ear.

"You need to talk to captain Winter's sir," Luz said, his voice tight.

"What's the plan?" Adriana asked again, this time in his face.

"Ok, ok, Roosevelt. ROOSEVELT!"

They all stopped talking and waited.

"You take your men on a flanking mission around the village and attack it from the rear," Dyke said.

Adriana looked at Lip then Luz, her mouth wide.

"You want First Platoon to go around and attack the village by itself?" Adriana asked not believing Dyke was serious.

"We will provide suppressing fire," Dyke said.

"We are going to be kind of alone out there, Lt." Adriana growled.

"We will provide SUPPRESSING FIRE!" he shouted, slamming his fists into his knees like an angry child.

Adriana took a breath, and bit back the angry comment that was on her tongue, and did as she was ordered. Luz squeezed her hand before she left. She looked at him, jaw clenched then she ran from cover back to First Platoon. Luz could have smacked Dyke.

Adriana and Martin made it back to first Platoon and Adriana crouched behind the chicken coop with Foley and the majority of the men.

"Alright here it is," she said trying to slow her breathing. "We've got a flanking run around the back of the village, and attack it from the rear."

For a moment Foley just stared at her, eyebrows raised.

"Dyke's order not mine," she said turning. "Ramirez, two guys, take em' go. Find some cover behind this table."

Ramirez did as he was ordered, but he was the only one who made it to the table. The last two got gunned down by an unseen sniper.

"Shit," Adriana cursed. "Webb, move up. Find cover!"

She watched the young man run forward, throw himself under a fence and crawl forward to an abandoned cart.

"Fire on that MG!" she shouted aiming at the bell tower.

All of First Platoon aimed their fire on the tower, but that damn sniper was aiming for them. Perconte went down while he was reloading.

"Perconte!" Adriana shouted.

"I gotcha," Liebgott said pulling the young man close behind him.

Adriana darted up to a fence where she could more clearly see if Perconte was ok.

"How you doing Perconte?" she yelled.

"They shot me in my ass Rosie!" he yelled, a grimace on his face.

Instead of getting sympathy like he had expected, Adriana laughed.

"Well you wouldn't be an Easy Company man if you didn't get shot in the ass!" she yelled back.

Perconte just frowned and held his ass. Adriana aimed back at the machine gun in the tower, but was still being fired on from the unseen sniper.

"Foley! Call Lip. See if he has any idea where that sniper is!" she shouted to him.

Foley was already on the radio.

"We lost five men to the sniper. Can you locate?" he asked into the receiver.

There was no response for a second, then Foley yelled to Adriana.

"It's the building with the caved in roof!"

"Concentrate fire on the building with the caved in roof!" Adriana yelled struggling to keep her voice controlled.

Immediately the air around Adriana was electric with bullets as the building with the caved in roof suddenly became the target for all of Easy. With the sniper momentarily pinned down, Adriana shouted for Webb to fall back, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"Martin! Get Webb out of there!" she shouted.

Martin shouldered his rifle and dashed to the kid. Adriana watched as Martin grabbed his shoulder and Webb's head fell back, blood pouring from his forehead. Adriana gulped as Martin glanced at her and shook his head.

"Bull! Get Perconte back behind the chicken coop!"

Bull and Ramirez got up and drug Perconte back out of harms way. Adriana was suddenly having a hard time breathing. She wasn't sure how many Easy company men were going to make it out of this in one piece. She realized that maybe she should have given Luz a kiss. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall in the heat of battle. Not when men were depending on her. All of a sudden she thought she could hear Winters' voice.

She frowned and turned back to the woods where she could very clearly see him start to run out onto the field. For a minute her hopes of having a leader they could all put their faith in came back, until he stopped and turned. Adriana glanced back at the haystack that was providing cover for Dyke to see if maybe he had come out of his trance, but that was only a dream. He was still sitting, from what she could see, doing nothing useful. Luz was still shoving the radio in his face, but Dyke looked catatonic.

Adriana cursed and let her anger out on the sniper when Martin grabbed her arm.

"Look," he said, his voice thick with awe.

Adriana turned and felt her mouth drop.

"Who is that?" she asked him.

"It looks like Speirs," Martin said.

"No way," Adriana exclaimed.

Speirs had just jumped over a crater made not two seconds before by an 88. The smoke hadn't even cleared yet. She and Martin watched Speirs dodge more 88s and MG fire and make it to the haystack.

"Looks like we got ourselves a leader," Martin said showing her the first genuine smile had had in weeks.

1234

Luz was so focused on getting Dyke to snap out of his trance and start moving forward, he didn't even see Speirs running across the field until he was right on top of them. He slid in on one knee and grabbed Dyke by the collar.

"I'm taking over. First Sergeant Lipton! Whada we got?" he asked

"Sir most of the company is spread out here. First platoon tried a run around, but they are stretched out to thin and pinned down by a sniper. I believe he's in the building with the caved in roof."

"Alright I want mortars and grenade launchers on that roof until it's gone. When it's gone I want first to go straight in forget going around," Speirs said quickly. "Everybody else follow me."

"Yes sir," was the answer from a surprised Luz and Lip.

"Thank god," Luz said smiling.

"Get on that radio, tell Rosie what's going on," Lip said patting Luz on the shoulder and charging after Spiers.

"Easy red, Easy red six, over."

"Easy six, go ahead," Perconte said and handed to phone off to Adriana.

Luz thought his friend sounded in pain.

"Belay the order to flank the town. Belay the order to flank the town. Target mortars and grenade launchers on building with the caved in roof then go straight into town. Repeat, go straight into town."

"Who's order was that?" came Adriana's surprised voice.

"Speirs," Luz said with a smile.

"What the hell?" Adriana exclaimed. "Alright if you say so. Over."

Luz put the receiver away and ran to catch up with the new CO. Lip was running alongside him yelling at second platoon.

"Second platoon on your CO! Move, move!"

Luz instinctively ducked when the infamous 'building with the caved in roof' exploded from a direct hit from Alley's mortar team.

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Adriana didn't even have time to relay the order before the building housing the sniper exploded.

"Ok First Platoon, move out! Move out!" she shouted leading the charge into the city. As they advanced, Adriana was pleased to see the Germans running for their lives, as they should be.

"Keep moving!" she yelled as a building exploded sending a few men to their knees.

They turned a corner and came to a low stone wall.

"Hold here!" she shouted to them holding up a fist.

They took cover as Germans on the other side of an adjacent wall began shooting at them. Adriana crawled to the edge of her wall and peaked around. The wall they were behind was actually a large square for a garden. This worked in Adriana's favor.

"Liebgott and Martin, flank left. Foley, with me right! Wait for my signal!" she called. "Everyone else suppressing fire!"

The moment the order was given, all of First platoon sat up and began emptying their rifles at the Germans forcing them to take cover and giving Liebgott, Martin, Foley and Adriana time to crawl along their respective sides without being seen. Once at the end of the wall, Adriana leaned around ever so slightly. She quickly took stock of the situation. One German had a grenade in his hand.

"Now!" she shouted.

She and Liebgott leaned around the edge of the wall and Foley and Martin sat up over it, all firing at once. They sprayed the Germans, careful not to hit each other, killing them. She held up a fist to stop the suppressing fire and crawled to the dead men. Liebgott came out to meet her and after inspection, nodded his approval.

"You make a damn good leader," he said patting her shoulder.

"Well now isn't that nice of you. I have always been looking for your approval," she said grinning.

"Yeah whatever," he said tapping her helmet.

"Roosevelt!"

Adriana turned abruptly to se Speirs waving at her from the wall of a building. To her delight, Luz was next to him.

"Is that Speirs?" Liebgott asked.

"Foley, take over," she said ignoring Liebgott.

"You got it," Foley said.

Adriana stood and jogged over. She hit the wall on the other side of Luz.

"Yes sir?" she inquired keeping an eye on her men.

"How is First Platoon?"

"Fine sir. We lost Webb and a few others, and Perconte got hit."

Luz jerked his head around worried.

"But it was nothing serious," she said hastily.

"Good Lt. You are a marvelous combat leader," he said in his usually hurried manor.

"Thanks sir," she said laughing a little.

Lip appeared next to Speirs and leaned around the wall, only fall back holding his face.

"You alright Lip?" Adriana asked.

"Fine," he answered. "There is armor and infantry. A lot of infantry.

"'I' company is supposed to be on the other side of the town. Do you see any sign of them?" he asked as Luz yelled into the radio, trying to hail them.

"No sir!" he said breathing hard and holding a hand to his bloody cheek.

"Sir they aren't the most reliable company. If we don't hook up with them they might pull back!" Adriana shouted to Speirs.

"Your right," Speirs said. "Wait here."

Then he took off.

"What the hell," Adriana and Luz said together as Speirs ran straight through the middle of Foy.

Adriana watched with a mixture of horror and pure amazement. She was too surprised to even fire her weapon. The Germans weren't even shooting at him. They were pointing at him as he ran by. He looked like he was out for his morning jog. He was holding his Thompson's with both hands, ready to fire, but he didn't need to. Adriana could only wonder what was going through that man's mind that made him decided to jog through the town of Foy when it was infested by Germans and tanks.

"Well god damn, he made it," Adriana exclaimed.

Suddenly Luz's radio squawked. It was 'I' company telling Luz that they were there on the other side of town, ready to advance.

"He's good," Adriana said smiling at Luz.

"There is no way he is that good," Luz said.

Adriana frowned and looked up at him, but his gaze was trained elsewhere. She followed it and raised her eyebrows at what she was seeing. Speirs had thrown himself back over the wall and was running back toward Easy, although this time it didn't look like a leisurely morning run. He was hauling.

"No way he makes it back," Luz said, but, defying Luz and all odds, Speirs trotted back up to them and took the attack in.

1234

After about an hour of cleaning up, gathering prisoners and not letting Liebgott shoot all of them, Adriana was tired but happy. They had finally made it into Foy. After freezing in the woods for the better part of a month, they were finally in some sort of civilization. Adriana had no doubt in her mind that the Americans would win when they finally invaded, but now that they occupied the town of Foy, and had only had minimal casualties, she couldn't believe they made it, though they were missing a few key people.

Toye, Guarnere, Muck, Penkala and Buck were always the first to come to mind. She knew nothing could be done about that now. Three of the five were alive and on their way home. She would see Bill, Joe and Buck again, this she was sure of, but for now, she had other men who needed her leadership. At the moment, that meant handing out the tomatoes she had found in a cart behind a building. Any other time, she would have gagged just thinking about their taste, but now, after spending a month in the wilderness, eating thinned out soup with chunks of squirrel meat in it, anything would have tasted like steak and potatoes to the men.

She porously veered away from the video that was being recorded of some men singing on a tank. She had never liked cameras. They had just reached the chorus, when it was cut short by a gunshot, followed quickly by another.

"Sniper!" someone yelled sending the men into a panic.

"Fine some cover!" Adriana yelled running for a wall herself.

She heard him shoot twice more then stop to reload. She had almost made it to the wall when another shot rang out and she felt a burning pain in her lower leg. She hit the ground on her face jolting her rib. She cursed under her breath, realizing the rib would never heal if she kept landing on her face. She heard a few people yelling her name, but she was smart enough to stay still. If the sniper saw she was still alive, he would put a bullet through her brain for sure.

Suddenly she hear and agonizing cry from her left. She knew the voice instantly. She gritted her teeth against the urge to tell Luz she was ok. She could hear him struggling, apparently being held in safety until the sniper could be taken care of.

"Adriana?"

She opened her eyes and met Lip's. he was against the wall she had been running for when she got shot.

"How yah doing?" he asked quietly.

"I'll live," she said not moving.

"Just stay still, were going to get you out of there," he said looking for the sniper.

Adriana could see Shifty, Popeye and Bull leaning away from the wall to see if she was ok.

"Where is he?" Popeye asked as Lip looked around.

"Shit," Lip cursed. "I can't see him."

Suddenly another shot and he exposed his position.

"Second floor, building on the right," he said to Shifty. "Don't miss Shifty."

Adriana watched Lip jump over her and run into the middle of town, much like Speirs had a few hours before. Shifty came out right after him and aimed at the window. The sniper took a shot at Lip and hit the ground in front of him, then Shifty took his shot. Needless to say, Shifty was better than the sniper. As soon as the German was dead, Shifty knelt next to Adriana.

"You ok?" he asked gently touching her shoulder.

"He got my leg," she said pushing herself up to look at him when suddenly something hit her on the back.

"Bell? Hey are you alright?" Luz asked rolling her over.

"I'm fine," she said annoyed. "He got me in the-"

"Shit," Luz cursed. "Medic!"

"What are you so worried about?" she asked, now very irritated.

She looked down and her anger suddenly was gone.

"Luz," she said, but he wasn't listening. "Luz!"

She grabbed his hands and stilled them and forced him to look at her.

"It's tomato."

"What?" Luz asked clearly confused.

"Look," she said putting his hand on her stomach and wiping what he thought was blood off. "Its tomato juice. I found some and was on my way to give them to the guys. The sniper hit my leg not my torso. I must have fallen on them and squished them."

Luz looked lost for words as he looked from her shirt to her face. Her grin grew by the second forcing him to smile too. Finally he burst out laughing, causing Adriana to laugh, and making anyone in the immediate vicinity laugh. All but one. Shifty backed up slowly and left the circle. No one noticed. Roe showed up a second later but he was smart enough to know tomato juice from blood. He fixed the wound on her leg declaring it a flesh wound and saying she would be fine.

Luz helped her stand, still snickering, but she pushed him.

"Didn't you hear the Doc? I'm fine. Go help someone who needs it. God knows there are plenty of people around here who do."

Luz grinned and gently kissed her cheek then left her.

"Go rest up," Roe said. "That rib of yours needs to heal too."

"I think I'm due for a rest," Adriana said hobbling toward the buildings.

She fully intended to find the building with the best bed and fall onto his and sleep.

"I'll help yah," Shifty offered, appearing out of nowhere.

"Oh, uh thanks Shift. That was some good shooting on your part today," she said putting an arm over his shoulder and leaning on him.

"You weren't so bad yourself," he said. "I saw the way you lead the men. You're real good at it."

Adriana laughed.

"I try. That's all any of us can do."

They didn't have any more conversation until they reached an empty room on the second floor of a building Winters directed to them. It was being used as a billet for Easy. The room was small, badly wallpapered and smelled like mold, but the bed looked like a cloud to Adriana. Shifty let her go and she fell onto the bed, on her face. Shifty's mouth curved into a smile and he sat beside her.

"Adri?"

She grunted into the pillow. Shifty snickered and turned her over.

"Adri."

She looked at him, blue eyes tired.

"I love you."

They were suddenly less tired. She sat up on her elbows and looked hard at him.

"Shifty, I thought I explained that-"

"You're an officer and don't have relations with enlisted men. I know," he said, his voice quiet and calm. "But you lied. You want to do something with Luz."

"But I'm not," she said sitting all the way up and scooting away from him.

Shifty sighed.

"I wish you looked at me the way you look at him. I wish you see the way I look at you."

He dropped his gaze and Adriana suddenly felt sorry for him.

"I do Shift," she said and covered his hand with hers.

He looked up at her. The passion she saw in his eyes frightened her momentarily, and he saw it.

"I think you do love me," he declared holding her hand gently, but firmly.

He leaned forward. She didn't move.

"I think you feel for me more than you would ever let on."

He closed the already small space between them and pressed his lips against hers ever so lightly. He waited, giving her the chance to pull away. He wanted to be with this girl more than he had ever wanted anything, but he wasn't going to force her to do anything. He was just going to keep trying. The air around them was electric causing something to rise in Adriana's soul that she had never felt before. Even with Luz. Granted, she had never done this with Luz, but it was something unreal. Something she was sure was exclusive to Shifty.

Her brain was screaming at her to push Shifty away and punch him or something, but she couldn't make herself. Suddenly her body was acting of its own free will. Her hand came out of nowhere and up the back of his neck, knocking his helmet off. Her other hand was suddenly on his smooth cheek, not reminding her at all of Luz, which was a problem, since the rational part of her mind was almost nonexistent now. His hands were on her waist beginning to pull at the zipper on her jacket. Surprising herself, she didn't try to stop it, but found her fingers working at his. Their jackets were soon on the floor.

She couldn't seem to remember any of her reasons for not wanting to be with this farm boy. His scent was making her senses go crazy, and he seemed to be an expert with his hands and mouth. She let him lay her back on the bed where he broke the kiss and began to trail kissed up and down her jaw bone to her collar bone. She arched her back pushing her neck forward to he could reach more of it. His hands were working and her green button down now, at the last button. Soon it was open and all she had on was her white t-shit, which hid little of her. Adriana physically brought his lips back up to meet hers nipping gently at his bottom lip, making him smile against hers. He let out a breath as she breathed in making her dizzy with his breath.

Suddenly there was a gunshot outside and Adriana jumped sending Shifty back a few inches. He looked at her curiously for a second then leaned back down but was stopped by and hand on his chest. Adriana pushed firmly making him get off her so she could sit up. He still had a hand on her shoulder. She swallowed twice before she could speak.

"I… I will always be your… friend. But I… I can't Shifty. Please understand," she said softly, eyes downcast. "I love Luz."

Shifty dropped his hand from her shoulder and stood. He knew it was over. He walked to the door and turned.

"I'll see yah round Adri," he said not looking at her directly.

Then he was gone. Adriana felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes before he was even out of the room. Her swollen lips began to tremble and she curled on the bed and pulled the pillow into her chest. She couldn't believe she had done that. Sobs began to wrack her body as she thought of the short radioman. How she thought that she would do anything for him. How she thought that she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. That man had done so much for her, and she had just slapped him in the face. After an hour of sobbing, she fell into an uneasy sleep.

_**AHHHHH I know you all hate me!  
Review!**_


	31. The Heart of a Soldier

**_Hey guys! New chapter! YAY! I know most of you are going crazy because of last chapter, but I can promise you, you will be going even crazier after this one :)_**

**_Thanks to all me reviewers, _**_ana, LondElle, the everchanging, Liliesshadow **and **Molly._

**_You are all awesome and I do this for you guys!  
Hope you enjoy!  
I own nothing but Adriana._**

Adriana woke up some time later. She didn't know how long, but there was light streaming in the window above her bed and it was facing the east so she assumed, she had slept through the night and it was late morning. She threw open the blinds and pushed the window out letting in a cool breeze. She closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose smiling until she remembered the night before. All the strength seemed to leave her and she had to lean on the window.

"Shit, what do I do?" she asked a bird in a tree outside.

It turned its head sideways to look at her then chirped. She nodded at it.

"Your right."

She turned back to the empty room and sighed. She crossed the room picking up her discarded field jacket and long sleeved button up and tossing them on the bed before going to the wash basin and turned on the cold. It happened to be freezing because it was snowing outside, but she filled up the sink and pulled a cloth off the bar over the mirror. She dunked in the water then looked up and was surprised by what she saw. She didn't recognize the woman looking back at her. She had the same grey blue eyes as a girl she had known her whole life, but that was about it.

Her face was thinner than she had ever seen it; her cheeks sunk in making her usually nonexistent cheekbones stick out prominently. Her face was covered in scars and a surprising amount of bloody scrapes; she assumed was from the most recent battle. Her arms, chest and torso were toned from carrying around heavy weaponry. Her cheeks were pale and there were dark circles under her eyes.

Her hair was hopelessly dirty, but her curls were not dissuaded from being frizzy. She sighed and pulled the rubber band out of her hair and freed her unruly locks. They fell to her lower back. Far too long for her liking so she glanced around her room. There was a sewing kit on a dresser next to the bed.

She went to it and picked up a pair of sheers. She smiled and brought them back to the mirror where she preceded to pull her hair straight and cut it to shoulder length. With less weight, the curls bounced up to half an inch above her shoulder.

"Now all I need is a shower," she said with a sigh.

She knew she wouldn't be getting that any time soon so she put the thought from her mind. She washed her face and pulled her outer layers back on. Lastly she captured her hair again and tied it under her helmet. She looked at herself one more time, sighed and left her room.

As she closed the door behind her, she realized there was something hard under her boot. She wasn't sure why she lifted her foot to look, but she did and it wasn't a rock as she had assumed. It was glittering in the sunlight. She knelt and wrapped her fingers around the delicate ring. She picked it up and stood taking it over to the window by the stairs. She examined it carefully, turning it over in her hands. It was a simple ring with a small diamond on the thin silver band. It looked like an engagement ring.

A half smile graced her features as she slid it on her finger. To her delight, it fit perfectly. It seemed like it was made for her slender fingers. She opened her hand and looked at it on her right hand. She turned her head sideways then tried it on her left hand, but decided on her right. The last thing she needed was all the boys poking fun at her for having a wedding band on.

She smiled and jogged down the stairs. Her leg didn't hurt anymore and aside from the stiffness in her side, her rib felt better too. As she descended the last few stairs, she tried to push the memory of the night before out of her mind. Shifty had done nothing wrong. He had feelings for her and he was only acting on them. Adriana could expect nothing less from anyone. It had been all on her. What had happened, had happened because she let it. She was still deciding between telling Luz and not when she came across Speirs. She saluted as she passed, but Speirs stopped her.

"How's the leg?" he asked.

"Better after a good night sleep sir," she answered. "Thanks for asking."

"Good. We are moving out to take Nouvelle in two days. I want you to get First Platoon ready. You will be leading them," he said briskly.

"Yes sir," she said with a curt nod.

"Good," he said. "Dismissed."

He left her standing on the street.

"Oh sir?"

He turned.

"Have you seen Luz?"

He nodded.

"Last I saw him, he was at HQ talking to Winters."

"Thank you sir," she said turning and heading there.

She had decided. She needed to tell Luz what had happened, and that it was just a mistake, and that she loved him. Twenty minutes later, when Adriana finally found HQ, Winters and Nixon were just leaving.

"Hey there Rosie," Nix said grinning. "I haven't seen you in awhile. What have you been up to?"

He threw an arm around her shoulder.

"You know Nix," she said patting his back. "Leading First Platoon into Foy, getting shot in the leg by a German sniper. The normal stuff."

"Well I'll be damned, you're just a regular little soldier aren't yah?" he asked smiling.

"Yeah, so I've been told. Have you seen Luz?" she asked.

"Yeah he is inside taking inventory," Nix said with a knowing grin. "Be careful though. He has been snappy all morning."

"I think I can take care of myself thanks. Major Winters," she said with a salute to him.

"What I don't get a salute?" Nix asked as she turned.

"I'm sorry sir," she said with a mock salute at him.

She heard him chuckle as he walked away and she entered the tent. Luz was on the far side taking stock of the rations they had. He glanced up as she walked in. His jaw was set, and his posture was ridged.

"Hey what's going on?" she asked not exactly knowing how to start.

"What do you want?" he asked, his whole being radiating irritation.

"Something wrong?" she asked beginning to worry.

"Nothing," Luz spat keeping his eyes on what he was doing.

"Luz," Adriana said coming across the room and laying a hand on his.

"Don't touch me," he hissed pulling his hand away and meeting her eyes.

She gulped. She had never seen his gentle eyes so full of anger.

"Luz I-"

"Don't Adriana," he growled.

Adriana was shocked into silence by him using her name.

"What's wrong?" she asked although she had a pretty good idea what was wrong.

"What's wrong?" he repeated quietly. "I have been spending this entire war protecting your stupid sorry ass. I told you I LOVED you, and what do I get in return? I get my heart tossed around then thrown into a blender. Does that phrase, I LOVE YOU mean anything to you?"

He advanced on her, somehow keeping his voice level the whole time.

"Luz, I know what think, but it didn't mean anything," Adriana tried, wondering how in the hell he found out so quickly.

"Didn't mean anything?" he asked raising his eyebrows. "The HELL it didn't! I saw you two! And God damn, Shifty? What the hell does he have that I don't?"

Luz whirled around and hunched over, putting both hands down hard on the desk. Adriana gulped and walked up behind him, but kept her distance, afraid that if she got to close, he would start swinging. Not that she didn't deserve a punch in the mouth, but she wanted to try and make things better before she was spitting out her teeth.

"Luz, it was a mistake. It didn't mean anything. He has always had… feelings for me and-"

"So the fuck what!" he shouted slamming his fists on the desk, making the box of rations and Adriana jump. "Everyone has always known that hick has had feelings for you, but so have I!"

He turned to face her.

"Who has stuck by you through all the battles? Who has been there to pick you up when you were broken and scared? Who has spent night after night worrying about you? Who carried you out of Market Garden when you were unconscious? Who spent endless nights keeping you warm in a foxhole in the woods? WHO LOST A PART OF THEMSELVES WHEN I THOUGHT THAT GERMAN SNIPER KILLED YOU YESTERDAY!"

By now his voice was well above normal volume and Adriana was backed up against one of the supporting poles for the tent.

"Luz,"

"What?" he yelled. "What could you possibly have to say to me?"

He turned and threw open the tent flap and stormed out running over an unfortunate replacement who had been curious about the yelling. Adriana went after him.

"Luz, wait."

"What the hell for?" he asked rounding on her in the middle of the street.

Adriana was aware of the many eyes on them.

"Are you going to tell me sorry?" he inquired. Then using his unique ability to mimic people, "Oh Luz, I love you, I'm sorry it was a mistake, I didn't mean it. Well you know what? I'M DONE! I gave my heart to you and you broke it, so no more! You go whore around with that hick! I don't care anymore. You hear me? I DON'T CARE!"

By now all of 'I' company was standing watching, eyes wide. Easy company had come rushing out of their billet as soon as they had heard Luz yelling and were all watching as well. All the Toccoa men were close by in case things got out of hand. Winters and Nixon were even there, and Speirs was in the back waiting to issue an order for everyone to disperse if nessicary.

Adriana was shaking and hot tears were pouring down her cheeks. In complete contrast, Luz was boiling rage. His face was inches from hers and his fists were balled up at his sides.

"Are you going to swing at me?" Adriana asked, her voice sounding like a small child's.

That didn't seem to faze Luz at all.

"You know, I should," he snarled lifting one of his fists near her face. "But I won't. I hope you're happy with that son of a bitch."

With that, he turned on his heel and stalked off leaving Adriana in the middle of the street. She watched him go, not really seeing it. In her head, she kept saying, 'he is going to turn around, and come skipping back and say, 'I got yah! HA!' Then they would go on being best friends and someday get married and have kids and a home. Someday when this hell everyone kept calling war was over. Suddenly she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and sunk to the ground. Luckily someone was behind her. She leaned on the legs, not particularly caring who's legs they were, only glad she didn't have to sit up on her own.

"Come on," someone said in her ear.

She felt gentle hands on her shoulders lifting her. She stood, realizing she was sitting in the snow in the middle of the street, surrounded by men. She was suddenly self conscious and bowed her head as Talb led her back to the billet. She dimly registered Malarkey, Babe and Liebgott chasing off 'I' company then following them back. Adriana felt a bed under her but she didn't let go of Talbert.

"Rosie? You ok?" he asked appearing in her line of sight.

He touched her face, but she pulled away. He turned to look at Malarkey, Babe and Liebgott who had just come in and shut the door. The glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Tell us what happened," Malarkey tried coming over and sitting next to her.

She cleared her throat.

"Yesterday Shifty helped me get back here because that sniper shot me in the leg. When we got back here, he told me he loved me."

"Whoa, Whoa, our Shifty told you that?" Liebgott asked surprised.

"Yes," Adriana said quietly. "He kissed me and-"

"He kissed you?" Malarkey interrupted. "Who knew he had balls?"

"Anyway," Adriana hissed. "He kissed me and I didn't do anything to stop it. I kissed him back."

"Did you get past that?" Babe asked blushing slightly.

"No thank God. I don't know what stopped me, but I told him I loved Luz and he left."

She drew in a shaky breath and looked at Talb.

"Luz hates me," she said, tears welling in her eyes.

"No," Talb assured her. "Luz could never hate you. If he hated you, he wouldn't have cared who the hell you were making out with. The fact that he reacted the way he did shows that he loves you. He is just hurt."

"How do I make things better?" she asked finally meeting his eyes.

He looked at the other three for help.

"I'm not sure," he finally confessed. "But he'll come around, then you will be able to tell him it was just a mistake, and that you love him."

"I hope so," Adriana sighed.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," she called quietly.

The door opened to reveal Winters, Nix, and Speirs. Liebgott, Babe, Talb and Adriana stood and Adriana wiped her face.

"Sirs," she said saluting.

"Roosevelt can you tell me what happened outside a few minutes ago?" Speirs asked crossing the room to stand in front of her.

"It was just a misunderstanding sir," she said quickly.

"What kind of misunderstanding?" Speirs asked.

"Lt. If I may," Winters said stepping forward. "Roosevelt, we don't want to know what happened. I just want to know if you will still be able to lead First Platoon in the attack on Nouvelle."

"Yes sir. This has nothing to do with that. I am fit to lead sir."

"We can have Lt. Foley take over if you can't handle it," Speirs said.

"Uh sir," Liebgott interjected. "I won't follow anyone else into Nouvelle."

Speirs turned his stiff glare on Liebgott.

"That won't be nessicary," Winters said calming everyone. "Roosevelt will lead first into Nouvelle. Now everyone needs to get some rest."

He turned and ushered Speirs and Nix out of the room. Adriana sat back on the bed and rubbed her forehead. She glanced up at the boys standing around her.

"You guys should go too," she said. "I'll be alright."

Talb put a hand on her shoulder.

"You sure?"

Adriana nodded and put her hand on his.

"Go on. I'll see you guys tomorrow. I think I'm just going to hang out in here today. Relax a little."

"Ok Rosie. Don't do anything stupid," Talb warned her with a gentle pat on her shoulder.

"Yeah Talb. I'll be fine," she assured him.

The four left and Talb gently shut the door behind him. Adriana thought she would instantly break into tears, but she didn't. She just sat on the bed for she had no idea how long not doing anything. Not even thinking. Finally she rubbed her hand over her face surprising herself when the cold band of the ring rubbed across her nose. She pulled her hand away and wondered about its last owner. How old was she? Was this her engagement ring? Who was the man who gave it to her was.

She shook her head and stood and went to the wash basin again. She suddenly felt sick. She grasped the sides of the basin and hung her head, breathing deeply. In the end it did no good. She wretched and emptied her stomach into the basin then glared up at her reflection.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked. "Why would you do it? You love Luz! Damn it!"

She pulled her helmet off and threw it as hard as she could across the room where it hit a window and broke it. The helmet fell to the ground along with the glass from the now shattered window. She cursed and let her head fall into her hands.

"Adriana?"

Even in one word, the impossibly adorable accent gave the speaker away.

"What is it Doc?" Adriana asked looking up making her loose curls fall in front of her face.

"I need to check out your many wounds you seem to have accumulated over the last few weeks."

He stepped inside and shut the door, but didn't come any further into the room. He glanced around taking note of the broken window and then the vomit in the wash basin.

"You feeling ok?" Roe asked slowly approaching her.

"I'm peachy Roe," she sighed sitting down on the bed. "You just gonna stand there or come over here and check me out."

Roe took that as an invitation and moved to her side.

"Lemmy check that wound on yo' hip," Roe said quietly.

Adriana shook her head and pulled down the edge of her slacks over her hip where the bullet wound still hurt on occasion. Long ago, the bandage had come off, but Roe didn't seem to notice its absence. It was still open, so Roe put some sulfate powder on it and covered it in a bandage. He then moved on to her leg wound. The bullet had barley traveled under the skin for an inch. That German really was a sad excuse for a sniper.

"Lemmy look at your rib," Roe said digging in his bag for a long bandage to wrap around her middle.

Adriana pulled off her jacket and green button down with no complaint and lifted up her shirt enough so he could see her rib. Roe undid the bandage that was already there. He started a little when he saw the large bruise that was taking over her entire left side.

"This is worse than I thought," Roe said re wrapping the area. "Rest up today alright?"

"Yeah I was planning on it," she said sounding angry.

"Yah wanna talk about anything?" he asked.

"What do I have to talk about? I'm sure you saw the little show in the middle of town earlier," she said glumly as he finished with her rib.

"Luz loves you. You just hurt him is all. He'll come around. You just wait a few days."

Adriana turned her gaze to him.

"You think so?" she asked.

Roe saw hope flash through her eyes.

"I know so," he said confidently meeting her gaze. "I have to go now. I have more men to check on. Don't you worry a'right?"

Adriana smiled and yawned. Roe took that as an answer and nodded. He left and Adriana lay back on the pillow. She still hated being alone, but Roe seemed to have hope that Luz would forgive her and he wasn't wrong about much, so that let her fall asleep easy.

* * *

Over the next few days, Easy took the town of Nouvelle and were holding up in that town. Luz had yet to talk to Adriana, but she was dealing with it best she could. The men around her were helping her, though they all had different opinions on the matter of her and Shifty. Some, mostly replacements, believed Luz was in the right. The Toccoa men thought it was bad what she had done, but what Luz was doing now was worse. Everyone however was in agreement on one thing. They hated Shifty. No matter how many times Adriana told them it wasn't his fault, they still refused to be nice to him. Sure they would save his ass in battle, but they excluded him from everything else.

Nouvelle had the same problem Foy did with snipers hiding out in bell towers long after the battle was won. Shifty had to take out each and every one with helpful distractions from Lip. After a few hours of carefully looking at bell towers, Shifty had declared the town safe to walk around in, and everyone felt more at ease.

In Nouvelle, Adriana was bunked with Malarkey and Babe. Apparently there were not enough rooms in Nouvelle to handle all of Easy Company even though there were only a few of them left. Easy had come into the woods of Bastogne with 145 men and officers. They had taken Foy with 93 and Nouvelle with 86 and they were about to take on another nameless town with 74. Adriana couldn't believe how many men they had lost. It was staggering to think about, and they weren't even being pulled off the line yet. Adriana didn't know if she could stand it much longer.

She was alone in her room writing to her father when a single shot echoed. Her head jolted up and she reached for her rifle. There were no more shots for a few seconds, then she jumped when another rang out. She stood, her letter forgotten and went to the window. She looked down and shouted to Ramirez who was running by.

"What happened?"

"I don't know!" he yelled back. "I'm going to find out!"

Adriana tapped her fingers on her rifle then turned and left her room. She took the stairs two at a time and followed Ramirez. She lost him for a minute, but she came around a corner and was met with a group of loud men in a circle. Adriana was going to walk by until she realized the group was mostly Toccoa men. She instantly began pushing forward, worried someone was fatally injured. She wouldn't have been surprised if all 74 men from easy were in the circle it was so big. Finally she made it to the center, only to be stopped by Talb.

"Adri, you don't want to see this."

Adriana was about to answer when a strangled cry came from behind him. Adriana's heart stopped. She hadn't heard that voice for a few days, but she would know it even if he hadn't used his exclusive nickname for her.

"Let me by," she said glaring up at Talb.

He shook his head and squeezed her arm.

"You want me to make that an order?" she asked as another cry rang out. "Move."

The last word was deadly and Talb had no choice but to comply. What Adriana saw made her breath hitch. She already knew who was hurt, but seeing him sprawled across the ground, blood melting the surrounding snow made her heart burst.

"Luz," she whispered as she dropped to her knees at his side.

Perconte, although injured himself was on the other side of Luz and Doc Roe was working at his bloody torso.

"Hey Bell," he coughed.

It made her cry harder to hear his voice so gentle and calm directed toward her. she felt her lip begin to tremble as she touched his face. She blinked sending tears down her cheeks and off onto his face. She gently wiped the blood from his lips.

"Luz-" but that was all that would come out so she looked up at Perconte.

"What happened?" she asked.

"German sniper," Perconte said, his voice shaking.

A sudden realization hit her in the face and she spun to find Shifty.

"He ain't here," Liebgott spat.

"I'm gonna kill him," Adriana vowed to no one in particular.

"No you won't," Luz said quietly.

She furrowed her eyebrows while Roe grabbed her hand and pressed it to Luz's wound. She felt sticky blood squishing between her fingers.

"You wont hurt him."

He paused at which time Adriana realized no one in the circle was talking.

"Bell, I'm sorry about all the stuff I said in Foy. I didn't mean it."

Adriana laughed.

"I deserved it and more," she said.

"I love you and I want you to be happy, even if it's not with me," he said extending a hand and touching her face."

Adriana suddenly saw where he was going with the conversation.

"Luz I don't want anyone else. Ever."

He coughed up blood then shook his head.

"If your happy with Shifty, then so be it."

Adriana closed her eyes and shook her head violently.

"That was a mistake. I don't want to be with Shifty. I-"

"Adriana we gotta go. Now," Roe interrupted.

She could discuss this when he was stable.

"Wait I-" but Luz had dropped his hand from her face and looked away.

Adriana felt her heart drop into her stomach. Roe glanced at her then at Luz then motioned for the stretcher bearers to take him away. Adriana watched Luz, hoping he would look back at her, but he never did. After a second she looked down at the hand that had been pressed against Luz's chest. Her hand was entirely red and dripping down her arm. Her whole body was shaking. She was sure she might fall over when someone's hand was on her shoulder. She looked behind her into the soft brown eyes.

"Come on Rosie. Luz will be alright," Talb said quietly in her ear.

He helped her up and back to her room. Malarkey and Babe followed quietly. Once there, Talb washed her hands then let her sit on her bed. When she felt the mattress beneath her, she fell sideways her head hitting the pillow. She rolled to face the wall, curled into the fetal position and closed her eyes. She didn't sleep, but closed her eyes trying to block out what had just happened.

Talb, Babe and Malarkey watched her for a second then Talb pulled them outside. He closed the door and leaned against it and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What are we gonna do with those two?" Malarkey asked.

"We need to talk some sense into Luz," Talb said.

"I don't think we could do nothin'" Babe said.

The other two looked at him.

"Someone he respects needs to tell him to get the fuck over himself and forgive her. God knows she has beat herself up enough."

The other two agreed.

"Watch her tonight alright?" Talb said. "I'm right down the hall. Come get me if something is wrong."

Babe and Malarkey nodded then went inside. Talb shook his head.

"Damn it Luz," he said as he walked to his room.

_**REVIEW!  
Love you all.**_


	32. Sometimes Its Just the Way Life Is

**_Hey guys! Sorry its been such a long time. here is the next chapter!  
Hope you love it!  
As always I own nothing but Adriana Roosevelt._******

Three days had gone by since Luz had been hit, and taken to the aid station. Easy company had taken the town of Rashan and was inside a convent listening to the choir sing when Winters walked in. No one moved except to turn their heads and give him a salute. Winters nodded to them and walked around until he found his target. Adriana was curled on a bench with her head on Talbert's knee and her feet resting on Liebgott's lap. Talbert had his arm over her shoulder holding her left hand loosely. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn't asleep. She was playing with a ring on her right hand. Winters was almost sorry to disturb her, but he walked over to them.

"Lt. Roosevelt."

She sat up instantly.

"Major Winters. What can I do for you sir?" she asked pushing a lock of curly hair out of her eyes and back up under her helmet.

"I would like you to take this to Guarnere. It's a letter from home. Apparently no one told his family he is in the aid station."

"Of course sir. I would love to," Adriana said smiling.

Winters was sure that was the first real smile he had seen in months from her.

"Good. I have a jeep waiting to take you there. I want you to stay there for the night, then report back here at 0130 tomorrow."

"Yes sir," she said standing.

He nodded and walked to the door. Adriana turned and smiled at Talb.

"Tell Bill hi for us," Babe said from the row behind them.

"I will. See you boys tomorrow," she said and trotted after Winters.

He led her to the jeep and bid her goodbye. She jumped in next to an older man who was driving. They pulled away and turned around. As the town of Rashan became smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror Adriana became more and more worried. Luz would be there. Roe had said he was alive, but no one had heard anything from him since being dropped off at the aid station and that was making her worried. Seeing him, even if she didn't talk to him, would be good for her.

The frosty wind whipped at her face, pulling strands of hair down from her bun. When she cut her hair in Nouvelle, she hadn't thought about having to tie it back up and have it stay up. She was just so tired of it she wanted it gone. Now the short pieces in front were causing her more grief than they were before. Luckily her hair was so dirty that it stuck together pretty easily. Finally she pulled her helmet off and let it fall around her face. She replaced her helmet, finding that it didn't fit as snugly because her hair was down.

She grinned as it whipped her in the face as the jeep drove on. After an hour and a half, the driver pulled the jeep to a stop in front of a white tent. She thanked him and got out. She stood in front of it wringing her hands together for awhile before a nurse spotted her.

"Are you a soldier?" she asked.

"Yeah," Adriana said nodding.

"You're a field nurse?" she asked.

"No," Adriana said. "I'm a Paratrooper with Easy company."

The woman thought Adriana was joking.

"Really. I have been a Paratrooper since 1942. I trained at Toccoa with the men and jumped into Normandy on D-Day."

Adriana wasn't really sure why she was trying to convince this woman, who probably didn't care anyway, but at that moment she got some help.

"She is one of the best damn Paratroopers I have ever know."

Adriana knew that voice. She looked around frantically for its owner. When she spotted him, she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.

"BILL!" she shouted and ran at him.

He prepared himself for a collision by leaning against a wall just before she jumped into his arms.

"Jesus Rosie, you're lucky you're small," Guarnere said holding her tightly.

Suddenly she remembered why he was in the hospital in the first place and let go of him.

"God, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" she asked looking him over.

"There is nothing there to hurt!" he said happily motioning to his lack of leg.

"I'm so happy to see you Bill! Nothing has been the same since you left. Is Joe here too?"

"Naw they sent him home a few days ago. I guess he beat me back to the states."

"Mr. Guarnere, what did I tell you about getting out of bed," a young nurse scolded Guarnere.

"Now what did I tell you about calling me Mr. anything. It's Bill sweetie," Guarnere said turning on the charm.

"Yes well, Bill, you need to get back in bed regardless of what I call you."

"Come on doll," Guarnere protested. "Can't you see my little sister has come to visit me?"

The nurse looked skeptically at the woman in uniform, wondering how the hell she got there.

"Well she can visit you at your bed. Come on Mr. Guarnere," she said leading him back in the tent.

Adriana was happy to follow until they got to his bed. It was away from the trauma center of the aid station.

"I just got moved up in the world," Guarnere said to her as he hopped easily up on his bed. "The recovery suit."

"Oh I bet your causing all kinds of hell here huh?" Adriana asked then shot a glance at the nurse.

She returned the glance with a sweet smile.

"Mr. Guarnere keeps us on our toes," she said. "But it's a nice change from most of the rude men who come through here."

"Oh yeah like he is a real gem," Adriana said with a grin.

"Hey hey, that hurt Rosie," Guarnere said with mock offence. "You ain't no peach neither."

Adriana aimed a punch at his muscular shoulder. He batted her hand away and playfully pushed her then pulled her back and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"So tell me how you been?" Guarnere said as the nurse walked away.

"I'm fine Bill. After you and Toye left and the rest of us took Foy, I got a bullet to the leg but other than that not bad. I led first platoon into Foy with Foley, but foxhole Norman nearly got us all killed. He had a mental breakdown behind a mound of hay in the middle of the field. He sent First on a run around the back of Foy, but we ended up getting pinned down by a sniper and an MG. Finally Speirs came charging out onto the field and took over for Dyke."

"Whoa, whoa, Speirs? From Dog company?" Guarnere asked surprised.

Adriana nodded vigorously. A smile was plastered on her face as she recounted the story. It took over two hours for Adriana to completely retell the story starting from when he and Toye had been injured all the way up to the last battle and how Easy company had been bunked together in the church for the night, putting specific emphasis on how amazing Speirs was during the battle. Adriana did her best to hurry past the part about her and Shifty and Luz, but Guarnere didn't miss it and came back to it when she finally stopped talking.

"So Shifty hu?" he asked smiling.

Adriana sighed and ran a hand over her face.

"It was a mistake, and I knew it the moment it happened. I tried to tell that to Luz, but he just wouldn't listen. Then he got hurt and-" she trailed off.

Guarnere laid a hand on hers. She looked back at him, her eyes swimming with unshed tears.

"I need to see him," she said finally. "You know where he is?"

"I haven't seen him," Guarnere answered.

"What?" she said loudly making the man in the bed next to them jump.

"I haven't seen him, and if he were here, I would know," Guarnere assured her. "I didn't even know he was hurt."

A sudden fear spread through her paralyzing her lungs so she couldn't draw a breath. She struggled for a moment, clenching her fists around Guarnere's bed sheets.

"Rosie?" Guarnere asked worried. "Hey Rosie girl."

He brushed hair from her face and turned her eyes to his.

"If he isn't here then that means he is-"

"Don't say it, he is alive," Guarnere said.

"Then why isn't he here?" she asked, cold fear in her eyes.

"He might have been transferred to get better care," Guarnere suggested.

Adriana scoffed.

"Transferred to where?" she asked her voice high above normal pitch. "If he dies before I tell him I'm-"

"Rosie!" Guarnere said loudly taking her face in his hands and quieting her. "Luz will be fine if for nothing more than to come back, swoop you up and marry your ass."

Adriana sat blinking at him, surprise written across her face.

"Now, Its late. You outta get some rest," he said gently patting her cheek.

She nodded absently and let Guarnere lay her back against the pillow. He leaned back next to her, watching her. They lay in silence listening to the other men and nurses bustling around until the main lights in the recover wing shut off and only the bedside lamps were on. Adriana reached and turned theirs off.

"I love him Bill."

Guarnere halfway grinned.

"I know you do Rosie. Everyone knows you do. Hell everyone has known for years. You are the only one who has been in the dark."

Adriana turned her eyes on him. Her face was illuminated by the next bed's lamp. Tears were shining on her cheeks. Guarnere ran a finger over her face, taking the tears with it.

"Now you listen here, Rosie. Luz is going to be fine and he is going to escape from the hospital and get back to you and the boys just as soon as he is able to walk. Maybe even before. You just make sure you are ready when he comes home."

Adriana finally smiled.

"I have never been more ready," she said happily.

Guarnere pulled her face to him and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Get some sleep now Rosie girl," he said quietly.

She nodded and snuggled against his chest remembering the last time she had used him as a pillow, they had been in a foxhole. It had been significantly colder and the frozen ground had been uncomfortable, but it had been one of the best nights in the woods. One of the warmest. He pulled the blanket up over them then settled his arm over her.

"Thanks Bill," she said into his neck.

She felt him gently stroke her hair. The act was suddenly putting her to sleep. He seemed to know this and continued to smooth her hair until she was breathing even and soft. He sighed and put his chin on the top of her head and prayed to God that Luz was indeed alive.

* * *

The next morning came far too soon for Adriana. She could have slept for days, but Guarnere woke her at nine, knowing Easy was moving out at ten. She stretched, picked up her gear and followed Guarnere out to where her jeep was waiting to take her back to Rashan. She tossed her gear in the back and turned watery eyes on Guarnere.

"Aww baby girl come here," he said leaning against the jeep to hold himself up as he pulled her trembling body into his chest.

"Am I ever going to see you again?" she asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

Guarnere scoffed.

"Of course you will!" he said laughing. "I better be invited to your wedding."

She pulled away and looked up at him.

"Maybe I'll even make you my maid of honor," she said with a small grin.

Guarnere grinned widely.

"You better."

Adriana's smile faded as the realization hit her that she would not see Wild Bill Guarnere for a long time. She threw her arms around him again and squeezed. She felt him nuzzle his nose into her hair then kiss her cheek.

"You gotta go Rosie," he said, his lips against her ear.

She nodded and kissed his cheek for a long moment then parted. He hobbled back a foot or so as she climbed in. She looked back at him and reached out a hand. He took it and squeezed as the jeep pulled away.

"Bye Bill."

"Bye Adriana."

Their hands slipped apart as the jeep picked up speed and Adriana curled her hand into a fist, trying to keep the feeling of Bill's skin against hers, but it was useless. The warmth of Bill was going just as fast as the real Bill was disappearing behind her. Tears spilled from her eyes and blew back into her hair from the speed of the jeep, and she let them fall. She was sure she would see Bill again, but she was going to miss him.

* * *

Adriana's jeep driver was not the best with directions; she found when it took him forty five minutes to find Easy Company. When he pulled up Adriana had to jump out and run to catch up to the last truck carrying Easy Company. Lipton reached out a hand and caught her arm as she jumped onto the bumper of the truck. He hoisted her up and dropped her onto the seat between him and Christianson. Malarkey, Liebgott and Bull sat across from them and all three brightened when she jumped in.

"How's old Bill?" Malarkey asked.

Adriana smiled.

"He is doing better than ever. It seems like with the lack of limb, he has gained some balls."

"Like he didn't already have plenty of those," Liebgott scoffed taking a drag off his cigarette.

"Hey look, it's first Batallion," Malarkey said pointing at the men they were passing.

"Hey, Hey!"

"Wadda yah want?" one of the first battalion guys asked.

"Yeah thanks for crapping in our foxholes yah shit heads," Adriana said good naturedly.

"Ayy it's our pleasure," he said back smiling.

Adriana grinned as Bull told them to enjoy the walk. Adriana lit a cigarette for herself and offered one to Lipton. He hesitated for only a second then accepted it. She lit it for him then settled down and leaned her head back against the wood siding on the truck. She sucked in a deep breath, half smoke and half oxygen. Luz was still on the forefront of her mind

She didn't know what she should be feeling about Luz. This was the first time in three years he hadn't been right by her side. She thought absently that she may have taken that fact for granted and now that Luz wasn't there, she was lost. She took a drag off her cigarette letting the smoke fill her lungs as she pondered what she might do when Luz returned. She wasn't sure where he was, or even if he was alive, but that fact no longer sent tendrils of paralyzing fear through her body. She didn't know why. In fact, she realized she didn't know much. It seemed that tears stung her eyes out of habit now.

She held the smoking stick between her teeth and glanced behind her imagining she saw the short, puppy eyed man standing in the throngs of people, grinning at her. She sighed knowing it was impossible, and forced her eyes to close as the truck jumped and rocked.

* * *

February 9th 1945

Adriana and the boys had been on the road from Rashan for almost a week, and it had been snowing more than not. Finally, Easy Company reached Hagenau and it could not come fast enough for all the men. They were all tired of the cold and tired of being out in the elements for twenty four hours of the day, but Lip had caught a nasty cold, and it was good he was getting into a real bed. All the trucks finally came to a stop and Adriana found Lip and helped him into HQ. He instantly collapsed on a couch. She jogged across the room and pulled a blanket off a chair and went back to lay it over Lip as a familiar face walked in.

"Hey look who it is," she said grinning at Webster.

"Sergeant Lipton?" Web asked quietly. "You feeling alright?"

"He's got phenomena," Adriana answered tucking the blanket in around Lip.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that," Web said, his voice sounding strange to Adriana.

"What are you sorry for?" she asked, unnerved by how odd is voice was. "He's got a couch, a goddman blanket. He's snug as a bug."

She grinned at him, her cigarette hanging from her teeth, but he did not smile back. He seemed distracted so Adriana went to take note of what rations they had.

"Sergeant Malarkey told me to check with the C.O. if I should be in 2nd Platoon."

"Have a seat Webster. We'll get you situated," Lip said wearily.

Webster sat and looked uncomfortable for a few seconds until he tried to strike up conversation.

"How long have you been sick?" he asked Lip.

"Long enough," Lip said.

It seemed to Adriana that Lip was making it very clear he didn't want to converse with Web, but the college boy didn't seem to get the subtle hints. He didn't have time to make anymore stupid conversation however because at that moment a tall, clean shaven man entered the room. He had a bar on his collar that matched hers, though Adriana almost laughed at him. He looked like a young boy in his father's military uniform. His clothes were crisp and clean. To clean for war. His rifle shined brightly even in the dimly lit, shabby room. From across the room, Adriana could see his hands, soft as a baby's ass. She absently rubbed one of her own hands over her cheek, feeling the calluses that covered it. There was not one spot on her hands that was soft anymore. The man's face was far too chubby for him to have been in war. His cheeks were plump and his face, full of color. The complete opposite of Adriana and her men. His eyes were dark and his heavy brow was quirked in an expression of intimidated determination.

"Is this the company C.P. for Easy?" he asked, his voice surprisingly authoritative.

"Yes sir," said Lip starting to sit up.

Adriana ignored the new Lt. and crossed the room to push Lip back down.

"You need to rest," she said tucking the blanket around him then turned to the new man. "He has phenomena."

"As you were," he said allowing everyone in the room but Adriana to relax. "Lt. Jones looking for Captain Spears," he said.

Adriana continued to glare at him as she stood sentinel in front of Lipton. Lt. Jones seemed not to notice.

"He's on his way. Why don't you have a seat?" Adriana said waving at another chair across from Lip.

"Who are you?" he asked seeming to notice she was a _she_ for the first time.

"First Lt. Adriana Roosevelt," she answered hotly.

"A woman?" he asked stupidly.

"Obviously," Webster said taking his seat after standing at attention when the new Lt. walked in.

Adriana would have laughed had she not been so annoyed at Jones. He crossed the room, passing so close to her, he felt her stiffen. She didn't move from her place in front of Lipton's couch and her eyes watched him carefully the whole way. Finally looking away from Adriana, Jones pulled his gear off and dropped it on the chair followed by his helmet. Adriana snorted earning her a look from all the men in the room. When Jones chanced a look at her, it only made her snicker more. He had huge ears that made him closely resemble an elephant, and Adriana couldn't stop the comment that bubbled up to her lips and it would have come out except Speirs tromped through the door. He had a ridiculous amount of loot in his arms.

"Captain Speirs, sir, this is Lt. Jones," Lipton said, again trying to sit up.

Before Adriana could tell him to lay the hell back down, Speirs did it for her.

"Listen, for Christ sake, will you go back in the back and sack out? There's some beds back there with clean sheets," Speirs said a cigarette between his teeth.

"I will sir," Lipton promised. "Just trying to make myself useful sir."

He didn't answer as Winters and Nix entered.

"Listen up," Winters said taking his helmet off and running his fingers through his hair. "Regiment wants patrol for prisoners."

Adriana groaned inwardly, but somehow, Winters and Nixon seemed to know what she was thinking.

"This one comes straight from Sink so it's not my idea," Nixon said quickly, looking at Adriana.

"Since the river is the main line of resistance, we are going to have to cross it to get to them," Winters said stepping down into the room.

"What do we need to do?" Speirs asked.

"There's a three story building on the other side. Up the embankment. We know its occupied, you can have fifteen men. Think very hard about who you want to lead the patrol."

Winters paused at which time Adriana glanced around at the men in the room. Jones was standing ridged against the wall, his eyes darting between Winters and Speirs. Webster was leaning against the piano bench looking only mildly interested in what was going on. Winters continued.

"You'll need a lead scout, a translator. I've got the entire battalion on covering fire."

"When?" Speirs asked.

"Tonight. 0100."

"Yes sir," Speirs nodded.

"Speirs," Winters said getting his attention. "I want this one to be as safe and as foolproof as possible."

"Yeah don't take any chances on this one," Nixon said. "We are too far along for that."

He glanced at Adriana who gave him a small nod. He winked and turned to follow Winters but was stopped by Jones, still standing like a statue against the wall.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Jones," Adriana said before Jones did.

She finally left her post by Lipton's couch and sauntered over to the stiff man. Nixon looked at her with open fascination.

"He doesn't have a very good attitude… toward me."

Nixon turned back to the stunned Lt.

"So our Westpointer doesn't like our woman?" he asked with a small grin.

Adriana could tell he was kidding, but Jones could not.

"It's not that sir. I just-"

"Save it. I'm used to it," Adriana said putting a hand on her hip.

"When did you graduate?" Nixon asked.

Jones hesitated.

"June 6th sir," he said finally.

"June 6th?" Nixon asked.

"Of last year?" Adriana asked forgetting her earlier annoyance at the man.

"D-day, yes sir," he answered, speaking to Nixon.

Nixon and Adriana snickered and Winters came up behind them. He patted Nix on the shoulder.

"Ok well don't get hurt," he said walking away.

As Winters moved to follow, Jones stopped him.

"Sir I'd like to volunteer for the mission."

Adriana's eyebrows rose of their own accord.

"You want to do what?" she asked, stunned.

Winters glanced at her, like she was playing a joke then looked back at Jones. He looked him up and down, taking in his appearance then promptly ignored him and said, "Speirs, talk to you in an hour."

He walked out leaving Jones blinking stupidly in his wake. Adriana shook her head at him and went back to where Lip and Speirs were talking quietly about whom to take on patrol. She sat next to Lip.

"You think a non-com could lead this?" Speirs was asking.

"I could think of a few possibilities," Lip said holding a cup of steaming coffee close to his face.

"Martin, Malarkey, Grant?" Speirs asked.

"Honestly sir, most of the NCO's could use a rest," Lip answered.

"Captain!" the three of them glanced up, all annoyed. "Request permission to go on the mission."

"No," said Speirs flatly. "You don't have any experience.

Adriana smirked in Jones' direction then turned back to the two men.

"Go to second platoon. Tell Heffron, Ramirez and McClung they are going," Speirs said.

"Yes sir," Jones said not sounding dissuaded.

"Roosevelt," she turned. "You will lead tonight."

She felt her breath catch in her throat. It almost didn't register that he wanted her to lead the patrol. Hadn't she done enough? Hadn't she been through enough? She didn't know if she could lead anyone without; but her train of thought stopped. She had successfully kept herself from thinking about Luz since Easy departed from Rashan.

"Yes sir," she said, her voice coming out very shaky.

He gave a sharp nod.

"Take Jones and-"

He glanced at Web.

"Webster," he inserted.

"Take Jones and Webster to 2nd Platoon."

"Yes sir," she said, her voice seeming to gain strength.

She gathered her gear and left the room expecting the other two to follow. Webster was ready, but Jones had to scurry to catch up. Adriana walked confidently down the street between the sandbags and the buildings while Web and Jones darted from cover to cover. Adriana pretended not to notice them. Web had at least seen battle before, and since he had been with Easy since its formation in Toccoa, Adriana wasn't as averse to him being there, although she thought he was a little prick for not breaking out of the hospital and returning to help them in Bastogne. Jones, on the other hand, was frustratingly fresh. He had never been in real battle. Sure he was trained at WestPoint, but Dyke had been also. Adriana knew it was not right of her to make judgments of Jones before she actually saw him in battle, but if she played her cards right, he would never see battle and have the chance to get her men killed.

Adriana ducked momentarily because of a few gunshots from across the river. She glanced behind her and waited for the two who were crouched further down the line of sandbags. She sharply waved them over. Jones looked afraid, while Webster just looked wary. Adriana stood just in time to hear the whine of an artillery shell.

"Move!" she shouted pulling Jones behind her.

The three of them hit the concrete block in the middle of the square. They sat there for half a second before two more shells could be heard whining overhead. They ran across the rest of the square and darted behind a wall. Webster was right behind her, but Jones was farther behind and he tripped. Adriana rolled her eyes and Webster drug him the rest of the way. Adriana listened for a second until she heard the all clear. She stood, picked up her gear and began to walk around the low wall to the staircase. As she walked up the stairs, Webster's gear almost hit her in the face. He had tossed it over the wall followed by Jones' stuff. She raised her eyebrows as he clambered over.

"This is a staircase," she informed him when he was crouching in the doorway.

She shook her head and led the way inside.

"Hey boys," she greeted Liebgott, Babe, Jackson, and Ramirez.

"Hey Rosie," Babe answered for everyone.

Adriana sat next to him as they all looked up to see Web and the fresh meat traipse through. Web tossed his stuff up on the top bunk across from Babe's. Jones stood for a moment looking unsure between Adriana and Web. Finally Adriana got Malarkey's attention.

"Malark this is Lt. Jones," she introduced him from across the room.

"Malarkey, Platoon Sergeant," he said only sparing a passing glance from whatever he was doing on the table.

"Congratulations on the battle field commission," Jones said putting out a hand.

Malarkey looked up surprised. He put his hand in Jones' looking confused.

"The what?" he asked.

"They are making you an officer no?" Jones asked.

Malarkey looked around, a grin spreading across his face.

"Me? No. You must be thinking of First Sergeant Lipton," he answered.

"My mistake." Jones said awkwardly. "So your without a Platoon leader?"

"No, I'm not anymore Lt.," Malarkey said, a smile in his voice.

"Right," Jones said, again very awkward.

Adriana snickered.

"Hey Rosie, who is this guy?" Liebgott said quietly.

"Fresh meat," she answered quietly with a grin.

"Where'd he come from?" Babe asked.

"WestPoint," she answered.

There was a collective groan that went through the room. Adriana knew they were all thinking of foxhole Norman. At that moment Jones was asking Malarkey if he wanted to introduce him to the men.

"Well," began Malarkey. "Some are sleeping downstairs. The rest are right here."

Jones looked around while Babe elbowed Adriana grinning. Jones turned to Adriana who outranked him because she had been in battle longer. His eyes were imploring.

"Malark," she said standing and moving to the table between the two men.

He looked up and met her eyes.

"There is a patrol planned for tonight. 0100. Across the river."

Malarkey's brow furrowed and Adriana heard a collective sigh from the men behind her.

"Jones can tell you about it," she said patting his back a little rougher than nessicary almost knocking him over.

She saw the red head's jaw clench, but she grinned. She knew Malark would much rather talk to her than some WestPointer, but she sensed she needed to be with the men. Jones looked nervous to take something on alone, but he didn't turn it down. She nodded to him then turned to the men who looked like they were grilling Webster.

"This kid out of high school yet?" Liebgott was asking.

"He's out of WestPoint," she answered walking over.

Liebgott apparently hadn't heard before when she said it because his mouth fell open.

"Well shit," he said then turned to Web. "So what do you know about this patrol?"

"Uhh… nothing," he said.

Adriana smirked. He was covering well, but Liebgott knew him too well.

"Aww come on Web, you gotta know something," Ramirez said.

"I don't," Web tried again.

Liebgott spit then said, "Bullshit. You were there right? At the C.P? It's a prisoner snatch right?"

"Hey Chuck listen to this," Babe said getting his attention.

"Come on Webster, spill," Liebgott said.

Webster glanced at Adriana imploringly.

"God damn do I have to do everything?" she said mostly to herself.

She sat between Babe and Grant and looked up at the men.

"Speirs is to pick 15 men. Lt. Jones wants to be one of them."

"I say let the kid go," Liebgott said with a small grin.

"You could probably fine 14 replacements to help him out," Ramirez said, also smiling

Adriana directed her attention to Jones and Malarkey who were standing by the window. Malarkey had just lit a cigarette and was telling Jones about what kind of fire they were facing.

"Yeah we dodged some mortar fire coming in," Jones said seriously.

Adriana snorted and Malarkey stared at him seeming to think he was trying to be funny. When he didn't laugh, Malarkey raised his eyebrows and half nodded before looking out the window. As they talked Adriana compared Malarkey's and Jones' appearances. Malarkey was haggard and worn, his uniform dark and tattered. Beneath the uniform Adriana knew he was thin from not eating for two months in Bastogne. Jones was clean shaven, well fed and bright eyed. His uniform was crisp, new and hole-less. Adriana was brought back to where she was by an elbow in the ribs from Babe.

"Why you holdin' out on me?" Liebgott asked. "I know you know."

"Just tell us who's goin'," Babe said.

She glanced up at Web.

"Well if we tell you, you have to promise to act surprised," he said.

"Jesus Christ Web," Adriana said standing. "Babe, McClung and Ramirez."

The three cursed rather loudly.

"And I'm leading it," she added.

This silenced them. Surprise was written across their faces.

"Who-" Babe faltered. "Who else?"

"I didn't hear any more," Adriana said rubbing a hand over her face.

Suddenly Malarkey's voice echoed through the small room.

"Listen up! I've got some bad news."

He pulled his beanie off his head and scratched his fingers through his hair.

"I told them Malark," Adriana said quietly.

Malarkey closed his mouth just as the phone rang. He picked it up.

"Easy White." He paused. "Yup. Ok alright, out."

He glanced up at the group by the beds.

"PX rations just came in, including," and with a swish of his arms, "winter shoe packs."

"Beautiful," Ramirez said sarcastically.

"Great," Liebgott hissed. "Now that we are in a nice warm house."

"Also, we got showers," Malarkey said.

A wonderful feeling shot through Adriana making her warm from the middle of her soul, all the way out to her finger tips. That feeling was soon extinguished however because a bomb that sounded like a freight train whirred overhead getting louder on its approach toward the building. Everyone glanced around before Malarkey shouted for them to move.

"Hurry up!" Adriana shouted pushing Liebgott and Webster in front of her down the stairs.

Malarkey was behind her dragging Jones. She hit the landing as a window across the street blew out and turned following Babe who was shouting to keep low. They burst through the door at the bottom as dust fell from the walls. They dove under tables and Liebgott drug Adriana with him in a niche in the wall. The bombing was over as soon as it had begun and everyone began to laugh. Adriana was laughing so hard tears began to fall. She leaned her head forward against Liebgott's shoulder as suddenly the tears of laughter turned into real sobs. Liebgott was the only one who noticed. He turned, startled. She closed her eyes and took a breath then met his eyes. His eyes held the question.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Really."

She stood and helped him up as Malarkey ushered them all outside mentioning something about showers. As they all exited the building, shouts could be heard down the street.

"Someone got hit!"

Fear sprang up in Adriana and she darted ahead of the other men down the street and around the corner where she slid to a stop. She stopped so fast, Liebgott ran into her back.

"Its Keen," she said quietly.

He was on his back, blood running from his mouth and nose. Doc Roe was kneeling at his head. He had been too late. They all had. Suddenly brown eyes, shaggy hair and a sideways smile flashed before Adriana's eyes making her blink furiously and step back into Malarkey. He caught her by the shoulders and easily held her small frame up. Speirs, who had come up behind them, motioned for Malarkey to take Adriana away from the dead soldier. Malarkey nodded and dipped his head so he could whisper in her ear.

"Come on Rosie. Let's go."

She didn't object as he pulled her gently by the shoulders away and back to their building.

**_Ok guys! Thanks for reading. Now REVIEW!_**


	33. Someone Missing Someone Returned

**_Ok guys! next chapter! Hope you like it!  
P.S. Sorry its so long, but I just couldn't stop!  
Thank you all my readers and especially my reviewers! _**

Adriana felt Malarkey's hands on her arm as he led her away from the body that so reminded her of Luz. Finally she dropped to a cold stair. Malarkey sat beside her and rubbed his hands over his face.

"What are you thinkin'?" he asked after a second.

"I saw Luz's face," she said simply.

Malarkey looked at her.

"You crying?" he asked leaning forward to get a better look at her face.

She shook her head.

"I don't think I can anymore."

It was a simple answer that Malarkey didn't have anything to say about. Instead he bumped her with his shoulder, drawing her eyes up to meet his.

"You heard anything from him?"

She shook her head again and looked up asking him the same question with her eyes. Then it was his turn to shake his head.

"I don't think anyone has heard anything," Malarkey said realizing instantly that was the wrong thing to say.

The fear in her eyes made him wish he hadn't spoken at all.

"But- I mean its Luz! I know he is fine. I know it," Malarkey said rushing to fix his mistake.

It didn't seem to help.

"Hey," he said after a moment. "You know what will make you feel better?"

She shook her head without looking at him.

"A shower," he said putting a hand on her shoulder.

Just hearing the word and knowing it was a very real possibility made Adriana feel better and she couldn't stop a smile from gracing her lips. Malarkey knew he had her won and stood. He extended a hand to her, which she took and he helped her to her feet. Arm and arm they walked to the showers. Malarkey grinned in spite of everything that seemed to be going wrong. Adriana felt his arm tighten and she responded with a glance at him and a quick kiss on her cheek.

As they walked they gathered the Toccoa men.

"What's going on?" Babe asked as he and Liebgott joined the few Toccoa men that were left.

"We are taking showers," Malarkey said.

"All of us?" Liebgott asked glancing at Adriana.

"Yup," Malarkey confirmed. "You boys like chasing Dog company out of places right?"

The Toccoa men let out a collective laugh and made their way to the showers. Once there they entered the showers fully clothed and physically forced every man who was not a Toccoa man from the shower. As the boys were clearing the shower and the surrounding area, Lipton walked up to Adriana.

"You are no longer leading the patrol," he informed her.

"What?" she asked surprised relief flooding her. "Who's taking my spot?"

He ignored her question and jogged away. She frowned but was elated she didn't have to lead the patrol. The only problem would be if the WestPointer was replacing her. Suddenly Malarkey called 2nd platoon to him. Adriana followed as they gathered around him. He waited until they were all there before he began.

"Alright, I'm leading this Patrol," he began.

"What?" Adriana couldn't stop herself.

She glared around for Lipton. She saw him walking slowly away. Ignoring Malarkey's request to stay, she raced after him and pushed his back when she reached him. He went reeling forward only saved from falling by a low wall. He turned around slowly, his eyes finding hers.

"Who the hell decided Malarkey would lead in my place?" she shouted drawing the eyes of everyone in the surrounding area.

"That would be Captain Speirs," Lipton said calmly.

"The hell it was! He knows I can do it! Malarkey has done enough! Why did you tell Speirs that Malarkey should do it?"

"Don't you think you have done enough?" Lipton asked quietly.

"Malarkey lost his five best friends in a matter of a few days!" she shouted. "He led the way into Foy, Rashan and whatever other nameless town we have taken. He has hardly gotten any sleep or food in three months and you want him to take a platoon and a half of men across a river on a useless prisoner hunt?"

"You have had the same thing happen to you!" Lipton said finally losing his calm exterior.

"EXACTLY!" she screamed. "IF I WERE A MAN YOU WOULD SEND ME! THAT IS THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND ANYONE HERE!"

Lipton seemed to be stunned into silence by her outrage.

"Is something wrong?" came the calm, sure voice of their Captain.

"Yes. There. Is," Adriana said struggling to keep control of her voice in the presence of her CO.

She turned to face him.

"This patrol is _mine_ to lead," she hissed.

"Lipton has brought it to my attention that you may deserve a rest having led 1st platoon into Foy, Nouvelle and Rashan."

"So did Malarkey sir," she said, still struggling with her tone and volume.

Speirs regarded Adriana with a curious expression then turned to Lipton, who's eyes were cast on his boots. Finally he spoke.

"Your right. Roosevelt, you will lead the Patrol at 0100 across the river."

Adriana breathed a sigh and let her jaw and fists unclench.

"Yes sir. Thank you sir."

Speirs nodded.

"Why don't you and the Toccoa men get a shower. I will watch the entrance."

Adriana thought she saw the shadow of a smile on his thin face.

"Yes sir."

With one more glare at Lipton, she turned and went back to where Malarkey and 2nd platoon were waiting for her.

"What's up?" Liebgott asked her.

"There was a mix up. I'm still leading the patrol," she answered.

Malarkey looked relieved for half a second then the realization hit him.

"You?" he asked.

She nodded sharply.

"Of course it's me," she said with a false grin.

The men saw right through it. Adriana was overjoyed that Malarkey was not going on the patrol, but she was not happy that she had to do it. She would rather no one did it. It was a stupid mission to grab German's and for what? Interrogate them and have them not say anything helpful. Adriana wasn't sure that was going to happen, but she had a strong feeling.

"The C.O. wants Grant, Liebgott, Whinn, Jackson, Shifty from 3rd Platoon and Webster," Malarkey said, still frowning at Adriana.

"They want anyone from First?" Cobb asked.

"No," Malarkey answered.

"Is there anyone they don't want from 2nd?" Liebgott asked.

"No," Malarkey said again. "That list sounds like everyone to me."

Adriana sighed and turned to follow Martin and Cobb to the showers to begin stripping.

"2nd platoon," Liebgott hissed. "I swear even if we were down to three guys, they would still want us."

"I can't believe they are going to make Adriana lead it," Grant said to Babe.

"She can do it," Babe said in full confidence pulling off his gear.

"Yeah but she shouldn't have to," Grant continued looking through the group of men.

He found it surprisingly hard to locate the little Lt. among the men.

"She's in a war, just like the rest of us," Babe said meeting Grant's eyes. "Everyone needs to stop thinking of her as a broad. She is the same as us. She was trained the same as us. She has gone through this whole war, and she is alive. Everyone needs to get off her back."

Grant quirked an eyebrow and Babe shrugged.

"Something Wild Bill told me before he got hurt."

Grant nodded. He understood and that ended the conversation.

* * *

"Looks like you're off the hook," Adriana said turning to Martin who was walking by with Cobb.

Martin sighed.

"You leading it?" he asked.

She nodded. Martin responded with a pat on her back.

"Good luck."

She returned his weak smile and followed him and Cobb to the shower. They passed Jones and Webster who were looking on with expressionless faces.

"Has it been a long time since you're last shower Professor?" Cobb asked Webster venomously.

Adriana didn't worry so much about what Web or Cobb did or said. She only had eyes for one thing. The shower head in the middle of the communal tent. Malarkey made her wait until the Toccoa men were sure everyone else was gone from the area before she undressed. That was easy thanks to Speirs. He quickly dispersed everyone with one look and the offer of a cigarette. Dog company ran for the hills.

Finally Malarkey had chosen who would shower and he was satisfied enough with the 11 men to let Adriana into the showers. All the men were surprised to see her instantly begin to strip down before she was even in the tent. The men glanced around at each other and the general reaction was a shrug. The 11 men chosen to shower with her entered as well and the showers turned on quickly filling the tent with steam. Adriana let out a gleeful shout as the burning water touched her skin. It made everyone jump. She pulled off the only two things covering her anymore; her undergarments, and tossed everything outside the tent. Not caring about all the men around her that, no matter how great they were, most likely were staring at her, she stepped under the water.

For the first time in a very long time, she felt burning, clean water run from her head to her feet. She couldn't stop herself from making small noises of contentment that the two on either side of her heard.

"Hey will yah knock it off?" Babe asked intentionally diverting his eyes to the soap in his hand.

She chanced a quick glance at him and noted the surprising amount muscle tone across his back. He looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" she asked, feeling the water run down the middle of her chest. "You boys all get to stare at me, but you don't think I want to see what you all have been hiding for three years?"

This comment brought everyone's eyes to her, then very quickly turned away.

"God boys, relax!" she said happily aiming her soap at the back of Liebgott's head.

"Hey!" he roared turning on her then his eyes went wide.

She was standing facing him, giving him a full frontal view. For a full ten seconds his eyes seemed to freely roam her body, but then, with a shout he turned away. Adriana laughed and it became a fun game for her to see how many men she could to give in and look at her.

"You know if we weren't better men we would take advantage of this rare opportunity," Babe said after Adriana had gotten him to stare at her for so long, Malarkey had to kick him.

"Yeah whatever," Adriana said running the bar of soap through her hair. "You all know if any of you tried anything, Speirs would rip you limb from limb."

They all nodded their agreement.

"At least we would get a smoke first," Grant said from the end of the tent.

They all laughed and Adriana ceased her game for the remainder of their allotted shower time, making her men much more relaxed. She sighed and lifted her face, eyes closed, up to catch the full force of the water. She couldn't keep the grin from touching her lips. She knew there were other things she should be worrying about at that moment. Luz, the patrol, her men, but as the water hit her face, ran down her body and out of the tent it seemed to take everything that was messing with her mind with it. Everything seemed to just be gone. The heaven in the showers seemed to be gone too fast. After another half hour elapsed Lipton stuck his head in the tent.

"You had better be almost done in here," he said to everyone. "Even Speirs won't be able to keep the men who want showers away from here for much longer."

"Alright boys, let's go. Don't want to be using up all the hot water do we?" Adriana said striding past them and getting a towel.

"Yeah we do," Liebgott declared refusing to be pushed away from his shower head.

"Come on," Ramirez said shoving his friend.

As they were coming out of the showers, Adriana in a towel, a runner dashed up to her, seeming to not notice her lack of clothing. He started speaking then realized and stopped, wide eyed. Adriana waited for a moment.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Hey bub, her eyes are up here," Babe said pointing at her face.

The kid jumped and tried to regain his composure.

"Uh sorry ma'am. Winters wants you at H.Q."

"Thank you," she said to him dismissing him.

He didn't move.

"A'right, get out of here!" Liebgott shouted advancing on him.

He jumped again then turned on his heel and darted away. Adriana shook her head and went to get her clothes. Ten minutes later she was in a uniform that could rival Jones' in cleanliness, thought she knew it was short lived since she was leading the platoon that night. For now though, she had clean hair for the first time in almost a year, a clean uniform, and her old rifle. Now she was headed to H.Q.

She jogged up the steps and into the house, feeling the instant temperature change. She entered the room to find a large fire burning in the fire place and Winters coming out of the back room where Lipton was sleeping off his sickness.

"Sir," she said giving him a small salute.

"Roosevelt," he acknowledged then left H.Q.

Adriana was rather confused as to what she was doing at H.Q. in the first place until she turned and saw Winters' assistant trying to fight off Cobb and Martin who wanted some chocolate and she knew what she was doing there.

"Hey boys, back off," she said hitting Cobb on the back of the head.

He grimaced out of annoyance rather than pain.

"Come on," Martin whined. "Just one Hershey's bar."

"Here," Adriana answered tossing him a pack of gum. "That'll have to do yah."

"Whoa Hershey Bars!" Liebgott shouted as he walked in.

"Jesus Christ they aren't for you," Adriana hissed.

"Well who they for then?" Liebgott asked.

"I don't know," Adriana confessed. "But not for you."

"Hey Rosie girl," came a voice Adriana had missed almost as much as Luz's.

She and the other pairs of eyes in the room turned to the back door where Frank Perconte stood in a new, shiny uniform.

"You gotta be shittin' me," Liebgott said smiling.

"Well look who it is," Adriana said with a wide grin. "How are you feeling?"

"As long as you don't grab my ass I'll be fine," he said returning her smile.

"Here have a Hershey's," she said tossing him one.

"What he gets one?" Liebgott complained.

"Well he got shot in the ass," she answered.

"Why'd ya stick your big ass out in the wind?" Martin was asking Perconte.

"No, but I expected a little sympathy," he said shaking his hand.

"What you want me to rub it for yah?" Martin asked.

"Get outta here," Perconte said hitting his hand away.

"Hey can you believe this guy?" Martin asked. "Try to get him outta the fucking war and he comes right back."

"Yeah well I heard the Krauts are finished," Perconte said throwing up a hand.

"Well just to make sure, we gotta row across the fucking river tonight, grab a few and ask em' in person," Liebgott said bitterly.

Perconte's smile vanished.

"You kidding me?" he asked.

Liebgott shook his head in answer and Perconte turned to Adriana.

"Wish I was," Adriana said. "Welcome back."

There was an awkward pause until Winters' runner spoke up.

"Oh Web, Winters' needs these at OP2. For the night patrol."

He handed him a heavy looking box and began throwing stuff on top.

"Hey did you hear what happened on D-Company's patrol last night?" he asked the room in general.

"What?" Adriana asked.

"Replacement Lt. blew his foot off. Stepped on a shoe mine. Fresh in from WestPoint, had to come back empty handed."

"No shit?" Liebgott asked surprised.

"Hey maybe he is a friend of yours Lt.," Adriana said directing her statement toward Jones who was standing quietly against the wall.

Jones opened his mouth but promptly closed it, having found nothing to say. Adriana grinned. She had a strange, nagging dislike for Jones for no reason that she could see. Besides him being from WestPoint and a replacement, there was nothing wrong with him. She was sure he was a nice man. But being young, impressionable and never having had any real battle experience, he was just a nuisance to her and the good Toccoa men. But who knows. Maybe he would become as good as Bill or Joe or Compton or Lip, but Adriana didn't think so, and therefore didn't expect much.

As she was thinking this, Cobb was giving Vest a hard time about the Hershey bars but Adriana couldn't seem to make herself care.

"Hey Perco, take over here will yah?" she asked. "Web, let's go."

She pushed around Cobb, who was giving her a headache but was stopped by Jones.

"Lt. is Captain Speirs going to be where your heading?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"Good then I'll join you."

She nodded and tried to leave again, but Vest stopped her.

"Is Winters going to be there too?"

"Hell," she said under her breath. "I don't know Vest. Come along if you want and see for yourself."

"I will," he said going around Perconte and leaving him to deal with the unruly Cobb and Liebgott who were already pushing Perco aside to go through the box of chocolate and smokes.

* * *

Later that night, Adriana and the 14 men who were going on the patrol, including, to Adriana's dismay, Jones, were sitting waiting to be briefed.

"No way. Not on his first day," Grant was saying.

"He isn't leading the patrol," Adriana assured him for the third time in ten minutes. "I outrank him, and there is no way Winters would be that stupid."

Jones looked a little hurt, but no one cared what he felt. At that moment four more men being led by Cobb entered the room with a small nod at Jones and a bigger, more respectful nod at Adriana.

"They get you too?" Popeye asked Cobb.

"Yeah," Cobb said glumly. "Who's running this shit?"

He glanced between Jones and Adriana. Everyone seemed to be unaware that Jones was a 2nd Lt.

"Me," Adriana said quickly.

Before anyone had a chance to question her, Jones alerted them to their CO's entrance.

"Ten-hut!" he said loudly, but Winters dismissed them to sit.

Martin followed him in. He greeted them quietly. Adriana thought he looked exhausted. More tired than any of them.

"As you can see," he began. "We have assembled 15 of you here for this prisoner snatch tonight at 0100. Sergeant Martin here will be joining you so, now it is 16."

Martin nodded to the men.

"Just a couple of points," Winters continued. "We have secured four rubber boats to get you across the river. Lt. Roosevelt is the ranking officer and will be leading. Lt. Jones will be along observing, and Sergeant Martin will be 2nd in command."

Martin had his arms folded tightly across his chest, but his expression said he had wanted to come on the mission, Adriana guessed because he wanted to make sure she was ok. This she resented. She didn't need to be looked after. She had not gotten the position of 1st Lt. by sleeping with the ranking officers. She was plain and simple, good at being a soldier. Wiinters continued.

"The whole battalion will be covering your with drawl. We hear these whistles," he held up the shiny objects dangling from silver chains. "we open up, so don't blow them until your back in the boats with your prisoners."

He handed off the whistles to Adriana who was standing on his left.

"And if the house turns out to be empty sir?" Martin asked.

"It won't," Winters said sounding very confident. "But in any case, we know it's an outpost and we want to destroy it so you will have to lay some demo on a time delay. You have to move fast and carefully. Put a perimeter around the house and once that's in place, get your rifle grenades in the first floor window get your assault team in quick-"

Adriana interrupted his rambling with a small head nod showing he could stop.

"Ok good," he said. "Remember it's about prisoners, so don't pop the first thing that moves."

Adriana saw him stare pointedly at Liebgott as he said the last thing.

"Clear?" he asked.

"Yes sir," they answered together.

Adriana noted that Liebgott had said nothing.

"Have you picked your assault team?" Winters asked Adriana.

"McClung, Sisk, Cobb, Garcia, and Webster as translator," she answered decidedly. "The rest of you boys are base of fire with Sergeant Martin."

She handed Martin a whistle behind Winters.

"That's my team sir," she said glancing up at the ginger haired man.

"Questions?" he asked.

There were none.

"Good luck," he said before he tapped her arm walked out.

Adriana followed and rolled her eyes as another 'ten-hut!' echoed through the room. Again Winters dismissed them and jogged down the steps to meet with Speirs. Martin and Jones were following them and Winters asked Adriana to brief Speirs on what she was going to do once her and the boys had made it across the river.

"We'll go in, form up on the bank and make our way in by two's. Once we are close enough to our target, I'll send Shifty and Popeye around the left flank and Jones, Grant and Babe around the right to secure the crossroads. Once secure, I'll take the rest of the men up to the building. We will assault it with rifle grenades through the windows, then hand grenades, then I'll take McClung, Sisk, Cobb, Garcia and Webster into the building to secure prisoners and plant the charges. We will then-"

But she was cut off by Webster entering their conversation.

"Sir?" he said addressing Winters.

"Yes," he said acknowledging him.

"Liebgott and I both speak German."

"Yeah?" Speirs questioned obviously annoyed.

"You said 16 men sir. There are 17 of us including two translators."

Adriana was suddenly furious at him thinking he was trying to get out of going. She almost told him how she felt when Liebgott and Grant walked by, stopped by Speirs.

"Hey Liebgott, you want to sit this one out?" he asked.

It was then that Adriana realized, Web wasn't telling Speirs that for his own benefit, but for Liebgott's.

"Yes sir," Liebgott said with a smile.

He grinned at Webster who nodded back.

"Thank you sir," Web said before moving off.

Adriana continued.

"After we plant the charges we will take whatever prisoners we find back to the boats, moving them in front of us with Webster. Behind the prisoners and Webster, we will have suppressing fire, moving the farthest forward back toward the boats by twos until we are on the bank. Once there, Martin and I will blow the whistles and Martin, Jackson, Vest, Babe and I will set up suppressing fire behind cover while Jones gets everyone in the boats. If everything goes according to plan, this should take less than ten minutes sir."

"Good," Winters said, looking relieved hearing the plan all laid out. "I want nothing to give away your position to anyone. Don't take anything that shines."

"Yes sir," Adriana said knowing instantly that meant no helmets.

"Alright. Go get them ready," he told her with a gentle smile and a hard pat on her shoulder. "Martin. Jones, go with her."

The two nodded, saluted then the three of them went to the shabby basement, the boys were resting in. Adriana entered the room to see them lounging, some playing cards, other smoking, and still others just sitting staring off into space.

"Alright boys who are going on the patrol tonight, nothing rattles, nothing shines. No helmets."

As she said it, she took off hers and tossed it aside. With that order, the boys set to work making their gear shine proof while Malarkey made dinner for everyone. 'Damn Irishman,' Adriana thought as she smelled whatever he was cooking. It always smelled like something had died in his ass, but it never failed to fill them up and keep them energized.

Malarkey offered some to Jones, who turned it down. He looked rather stressed as he scrubbed away at his rifle, Adriana knew he had already cleaned several times. Malarkey poured Webster some dinner then looked uncertainly back at Adriana. She shrugged and he walked up to Jones.

"You set for tonight?" Malarkey asked the young WestPointer.

"I'm ready," Jones said, looking up at Malarkey with huge eyes.

"Those Krauts are gonna catch some hell," Malarkey said taking a swig of the stew like substance he had created.

"So I hear," Jones said dryly.

Malarkey looked up at him.

"I'm not personally going in," he said with a shrug.

"Roosevelt?" Malarkey questioned knowing she outranked him.

He nodded.

"Roosevelt, McClung and Martin. I'm supposed to stay in the rear and give them cover."

"Best place to be," Malarkey assured him.

Malarkey looked around then pulled up a chair and sat across from Jones.

"Listen," Malarkey said conversationally. "Lemmy tell you something about Rosie. That girl has been with Easy since Toccoa. She trained with us and managed to get through it, and even be promoted to 2nd Lt. She nearly got a concussion jumping from an exploding plane, got shot in the shoulder and strangled all on D-Day. She caught a bullet in the foot in Carentan, one in the shoulder in Holland and a one in the hip in Bastogne."

Adriana laughed aloud when she realized Malarkey was repeating word for word what Muck had said in Bastogne when he had introduced her to that new recruit. A wave of sorrow swept over her so powerful she was forced to sit on the table beside Web. He gave her a curious look.

"Muck," she whispered.

Malarkey looked over his shoulder at her with a sad smile on his face then stood. He crossed the small space between them and looped his arms under hers and pulled her into a tight hug. She was sobbing.

"We have lost so many," she said when her voice was more level. "Muck, Penkala, Bill, Buck, Toye, Julian god and all those replacements."

At the mention of his foxhole buddie's name, Babe sucked in a breath, having forgotten until that moment about Julian. Adriana held onto Malarkey's jacket as the faces passed through her mind. Penkala, his round face that always had a smile plastered on it, even in the most dire situations. Bill, his handsome face, always covered in a beard and heavy browed expressions, until he was talking to her, then there was always a smile. Toye, his scratchy voice that, on occasion, had made Adriana swoon. Buck, his booming, authoritative voice that could be heard across a battle field. His bright blue eyes that always gave the impression he was looking through you to your soul. Muck, his chubby, cherubic face; his impossibly adorable quirked lips and a humor that could match Luz's on occasion. Then suddenly a thought so horrible hit her in the chest, knocking the breath from her.

"Luz," she whispered so only Malarkey could hear.

She didn't know if he was ok. How long had it been since she was with Shifty in Foy? How long had it been since she and Luz had fought out in the middle of the street? How long since he had been shot and carried away to god knows where? Malarkey's voice brought her back.

"Rosie, Luz will be fine. He is probably breaking out of the hospital as we speak. Hell, he might even be back here in time for the patrol tonight."

'The patrol,' Adriana thought. She couldn't break down now. Not with 15 men counting on her to lead that night, but she couldn't get the sights and sounds of Bastogne out of her mind. Muck and Penkala's voices suddenly silenced. Their empty foxhole. Bill dragging Joe through the forest, blood pouring from his lack of limb, then an explosion that blew Adriana back into a tree. Then Bill and Joe laying sprawled on top of one another, both missing a leg. Buck standing mouth agape, tears running down his cheeks. They were all gone.

"Adriana," Malarkey said pushing her to arms length. "You have to get it together. You're leading tonight."

Adriana looked at him with a smile. She appreciated the fact that he didn't offer to take over for her, but snapped her back into focus. There would be plenty of time to cry for the lost later. Everyone looked up as a bomb crashed overhead sending dust cascading down from the ceiling.

"Your right. Thanks Malark." Then she addressed the whole room. "Remember boys, nothing shines."

Adriana turned from the curious eyes and went upstairs where she could get some air. She went out onto the balcony and pulled on her fingerless gloves. As she looked across the river at their quarry, she tied her hair back and pulled a wool beanie down over her ears. She absently felt the earring holes that had been there since her twelfth birthday. They had long since been without earrings, but the holes were still there. Just another reminder of how long it had been since she had been home. She reached up and wiped her face , but the tears had already frozen. She rubbed her face hard with both hands then looked back across the looming river. She glanced behind her when she heard footsteps.

"Hey Web," she greeted him.

He smiled and offered her a cigarette. She took it, grateful for something to do. For a moment they just smoked in silence watching their foggy breath mix with the smoke then Web held a notebook up to his face and began to read.

"Sixteen men crossing a river to capture men from a German observation post. Getting back safely could be accomplished in as little as ten minutes. The same mission could be met with disaster and result in nothing more than sixteen American's killed or wounded in action. Those of us who have seen combat before put it from our minds. Those who haven't probably thought of little else as we wait for darkness."

Adriana waited for him to keep reading, like she was waiting for the story to have a happy ending but he didn't say anything else.

"What's that for?" she asked him.

"A book I'm going to write when I get home," he said closing the notebook.

Adriana nodded.

"It's good. Maybe you'll win a prize. Make sure you remember me when you're a big author."

He gave her a sideways grin.

"You seem awfully sure you're going to get out of this in one piece," she said.

He nodded thoughtfully.

"I am. I can't say why, but I am. I believe you will too."

"Why?" she asked only mildly interested.

He shrugged again.

"You have always been tough."

"That doesn't mean I can't get blown up by an 88 or shot through the forehead," she countered argumentatively.

He shrugged again.

"True." He paused. "Would you rather die on your feet or your knees?"

Adriana frowned up at him. He just stared expectantly back at her.

"My feet," she said finally and he nodded.

"That's why you won't die. You aren't ever going to give death a chance to take you," he said quietly then turned and walked back inside, leaving her there, the hand holding the cigarette frozen in mid air while she thought about what he said.

Finally she blinked and shook her head confused. Finally she let it slip from her mind as she took a final drag of the cigarette and tossed it over the edge.

* * *

Finally after a few tense hours, Adriana, Jones and Martin led the men down to the boats where a rope stretched across the expanse of water. How the rope got tied around a tree on the German bank, Adriana had no idea, but as long as it held, she didn't care. On Adriana's signal, all four boats were pushed down the icy bank and they all boarded together. In the lead boat were Adriana, McClung, Babe and Grant, followed by Martin and his boat, Jones and his boat and Cobb and his boat bringing up the rear.

The first three easily began making their way out onto the water, being pulled along by the rope, but just as the lead boat reached the midpoint of the river, a loud splash and a shout broke the fragile silence. All heads turned to see the Garcia, Cobb and Skinny splashing around, Garcia shouting that he couldn't swim. Adriana looked to Martin who motioned for them to keep moving. Adriana relayed the order as the three fought to get out of the icy water behind them. They would have to do this mission with fourteen men.

"If it was that easy to get out of this shit, I wouldn't have even bothered getting in the boat," Babe whispered to Grant.

Adriana grinned as they reached the shore and got out. They pulled the boats up shore so they wouldn't float off downstream, then on Adriana's order, they moved up toward a low hill. She and Martin crested the hill, their prone figures not visible to a sniper unless he knew where to look. Martin glanced over at Adriana who took in the scene before her then called McClung forward.

"Take McClung in. I'll be right behind you."

Martin complied and he and McClung disappeared over the hill. Adriana knew they were cutting the barbed wire at the bottom of the hill, put there by the Germans to keep them out. She crawled back down the hill where the rest of the men were crouched, their guns held ready.

"Over the hill by two's," she said in a low whisper. "Jackson with me first."

Jackson came to her right and they both crawled back up the hill. They crested it and slid down the small snow covered slope to where Martin and McClung were waiting, holding the cut barbed wire apart for them to pass through.

"Keep your head down," she heard Martin warn.

Adriana put her face as low to the ground as she could, keeping her chest pressed flat against the snow to miss the cans strung together. They were intended to make noise and warn the Krauts if anything touched them. Adriana thought it was a prehistoric idea. When she had made it past the noisemakers, she felt Martin give her a tap on the leg. She stood, keeping low, the nose of her gun following her eyes. She crouched behind a broken wall, waiting on the rest of the men. Once they were there, Adriana began giving out orders.

"Popeye, McClung, go."

The two darted from cover and Adriana leaned around hers to watch them. When they reached new cover unharmed, she vaulted the wall she was behind and ran up past them. She put her back to a wood pile and looked back at the men.

"In two's," she whispered. "Move up."

She motioned to the first two. They scrambled to their feet and dashed past her. She watched around the other side of the wood pile then motioned for the nest two. Webster and Ramirez stood and sprinted past. Another crunching told Adriana someone was coming up behind her. Seconds later Martin dropped beside her. She didn't spare him a glance only motioned the next two forward. Finally she and Martin moved up to another pile of wood right across from the house they were to break into.

Adriana glanced around taking a quick head count then turned.

"Shifty, Popeye, secure the left flank. Martin, take Grant and Heffron, secure the right perimeter and the crossroads. Questions? Good, Security out."

Martin glared at her but she raised an eyebrow, daring him to disobey. He did not like it, but he did as he was told. After a few seconds, she tapped McClung on the shoulder signaling for him to move up. He jogged forward to a chicken coop. There he waited for them to gather then continued to the building. Adriana was almost surprised they hadn't been seen yet. They grouped together against the wall then one by one they rounded the corner.

Adriana went around McClung so she was leading again and fitted a rifle grenade into her gun. She glanced behind her at McClung, Jones, Jackson, Web, Ramirez and Vest. Jones had that same look of terrified determination on his face he had when Adriana first met him. Their breath was coming out in large clouds spiraling up into the black sky. As Adriana primed the grenade Shifty caught her eye. She shot him a weak smile, then stood and shot the grenade through the window. She ducked back down just as Jackson ran past her and up the stairs.

"Jackson!" she said in a loud whisper, but he wasn't paying attention.

The room above them exploded, sending shards of glass out at them. Jackson ran up, unscathed and threw one of his grenades through the now painless window, then proceeded to kick down the door.

"WAIT!" Adriana shrieked but it was too late.

His grenade went off sending shrapnel into his face. Jackson's scream mingled with a German's who was wounded, was sure to awaken the whole town. Jones sprinted up the stairs last and was confronted with chaotic yelling from both sides. Adriana was yelling at the Germans and Webster was relaying her message in their language. Vest was on the ground next to Jackson whose face was unrecognizable. Vest looked like he was going to lose his dinner.

"Jones!" Adriana yelled at him. "Cover Webster. McClung, you too!"

Jones pulled his Thompsons up and aimed at the first German, McClung the second.

"Keep them quiet!" Adriana shouted hardly able to make herself heard over all the noise. "Web! Prime the explosives. "Pick him up!" she yelled at the two Germans. "McClung, they are going to carry their friend. Go now! Ramirez, get Jackson, we are moving out!"

Her orders were followed at once even by the German's who had no idea what she was saying. Her tone was enough to scare them. Ramirez knelt next to Jackson and punched Vest in the chest to bring him back to reality.

"Everyone moves out on my command! Are you ready?" she asked Ramirez. "Are you ready?" she asked Web, who was not.

"SHUT UP!" she bellowed at the Krauts. "Web, come on!

Jones circled the room so he was behind the Krauts with McClung keeping them in line.

"Move!" he yelled poking one of them in the back with his rifle.

"Jones! Take care of the prisoners!" Adriana said seeing him take charge. "Let's go, Move, MOVE!"

She waved Ramirez and Jones out. They exited leaving Vest shaking on the ground.  
"Web MOVE!" she shouted to him as he finished priming the explosive.

As she and Web ran past, she drug Vest to his feet and pushed him in front of her. As they descended the steps, machine guns were beginning to be heard from the Germans, but the distinctive 'pops' from Shifty's rifle gave Adriana some confidence.

"Shifty fall back, we're moving out!" she called to him as they passed.

Shifty got two more shots off, no doubted killing two or more Germans before he turned and followed them back.

"Jones keep those prisoner's heads down and keep moving!" she yelled.

He did just that. As they rounded the corner of the building heading back to the boats, the collected Popeye, Martin (who was not happy he had been separated from her for so long) Babe and Grant.

"Covering fire!" she called.

At the command, everyone who didn't have something better to do found cover and aimed their Thompsons on the enemy. Because it was dark they only had muzzle flashes to go off of, but that seemed to be enough.

"Martin! Take the prisoners; get them in the boats. Jones!"

He looked up as a little, silver whistle hit the ground at his feet.

"Let's go!" Jones bellowed sounding so much like Lipton that Adriana had to turn and look to make sure he wasn't there.

"Pull back!" Jones shouted.

At the order, the men covering the escape ran after the ones with the prisoners. They found cover again and fired behind them. The German's had started in with their artillery, and bursts of dirt and debris were flying around them. Adriana heard two whistles blow simultaneously and the men providing covering fire turned and bolted under the fence and down the steep hill to the boats. The American's instantly opened up on the Germans. Machine Guns and Flack guns began firing all over the town.

Jones kept his head low as the ushered the prisoners into the boats, which, with the addition of three more people, were overloaded to the point he was worried they might sink. Suddenly Vest pulled out his side arm shouting about how he was going to kill the fucking Krauts.

"Vest, if you shoot him we will have to come back for more," Martin said shoving the kid into the boat like he did it every day.

"In the boat now!" Jones yelled shoving the Krauts forward.

There was some commotion because the third kraut was too injured to be any use. Jones was surprised at how easily he made the decision to leave him on the bank.

"No!" he yelled at the German trying to get his friend into the boat. "He is staying!"

Jones shoved the uninjured Kraut into the boat and followed him. He caught the one being thrust forward by Martin, then grabbed the rope and began pulling the overloaded boat along the water. The artillery was concentrated on the river now, so every few feet, the little boats got rocked by waves and showered with spray from the shells. The dull 'kerplunks' sounded every few seconds, every time making Jones jump. After what seemed like hours, the lead boat carrying Jackson reached the shore. Several men including Perconte, Malarkey, Lipton and Bull were there to help. In the rush to get out of the boats, everyone seemed to get soaked and muddy, but they managed to get off the bank unharmed.

Everyone ran together to the closest building which happened to be the basement they had been in not half an hour before. They all seemed to burst through the doors at once making Skinny, Garcia and Cobb jump.

"We got wounded, move it!" McClung shouted at them waving a hand intending they move.

The three jumped out of their seats and cleared the table as Ramirez and Vest hoisted Jackson through the door.

"Popeye!" Martin said loudly. "Get the Krauts back there and shake em' down."

Popeye, who had the muzzle of his pistol on the back of one Kraut's neck, headed to the back of the room followed by Shifty, Babe, who had the other Kraut, and Webster. Jones entered last and was again met with controlled chaos. He stayed back against the wall out of the way.

"McClung! Go to company CP, tell them what we got," Martin said.

"He's gonna die!" Vest was blubbering at Jackson's head.

"Move out of the way," Martin said shoving Vest roughly. "Webster stay with him. Hey Shifty! Watch Vest."

The last part about Vest came out venomous then Martin turned and almost ran into Jones.

"I'm going to get a medic," he said, his voice suddenly quieter. "You got this?"

"Yeah," Jones nodded.

He put his rifle down and went to help Ramirez, Cobb, Skinny and Webster with Jackson. The kid was writhing and kicking and the four men were having a hell of a time holding him down.

"Jackson listen to me, you have to calm down so we can help you," Webster was saying close to his face.

It seemed to be working and Garcia appeared to help Jones hold his legs down. Suddenly Vest started in again screaming this like 'you're gonna die.' It wasn't helping the situation. Jackson's one good eye was wild as he heard him.

"Don't listen to him Jackson. Your gonna be fine," Web said, his tone comforting. "Look at me, you're gonna be ok."

Jones turned his attention from the man on the table to the back room where the Krauts were being guarded. Jones could foresee a problem. There were far too many men back there. The two Krauts, Popeye, Shifty, Babe and Vest. Popeye and Shifty were level headed from what Jones had seen. Vest and Babe, not so much. Before he had a chance to do anything about it however, Vest proved him right.

"God damn it!" he shouted as he stood up and took aim at one of the Germans.

"HEY!" Jones shouted and dashed up to help Popeye subdue him.

He grabbed the arm that was wielding the side arm and bent it around behind Vest's back, making him drop it. Jones shoved him into the chair then turned on Babe who had one of the prisoners up against the wall yelling at him. Jones grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked him off.

"We aren't going to get more prisoners because you killed one!" he shouted at Babe as he shoved him into the other room.

Jones leaned down to talk to Vest, but the poor kid didn't want to talk. He was wailing and crying and just maybe going completely insane. Jones was still trying to calm the young man when Martin reappeared with Doc Roe in toe.

"Watch him," Jones said to Shifty and turned to the newcomers.

Roe instantly took control of the room. He pushed Ramirez out of the way so he could inspect Jackson's injuries. Jones noticed the soldier immediately calmed at Roe's touch and voice. Everything was suddenly quiet as a dozen or so men looked on praying Jackson would be alright. Even the Krauts had stopped talking. Roe quietly did an examination of Jackson then declared they get him out of there. Jones helped lift him onto a stretcher and started to follow them out, but there was an explosion and they put him on the ground, not ten steps from the table.

The 15 men who had gone on the patrol watched in horror as Jackson took his last ragged breaths, coughed up blood then lay still. Roe leaned back and took off his helmet and looked up at Babe and Grant, who looked at each other then back at Roe. Babe looked at Roe, not wanting to believe it, but finally turned and relayed the message to the rest of the room. Ramirez and Skinny were both in tears. Garcia was pressed against the wall, eyes closed. Webster was running a hand through his hair. Cobb was standing open mouthed, watching the scene in open disbelief. Vest was huddled on the floor at Jones' feet, whimpering and shaking. McClung was standing with his hand on the door, ready to usher the medics out. He let his hand slowly slide from handle. Shifty and Popeye had their backs to the prisoners, too interested in what was happening and even the two Germans were craning their necks to see what happened. Weather they were hoping for Jackson to die or live was not evident. Martin crossed the room, grabbing a blanket from Skinny's shoulder and spreading across Jackson's lifeless body.

As the medics took his body out Jones shoved his hands into his pockets and felt something cold. He pulled it out and held up the silver whistle that had been given to him while they were making their escape from the Germans. Suddenly his breath hitched in his chest. Besides Jackson, they were missing one. He didn't have time to say anything however because at that moment, someone voiced his concerns.

"Hey any of you boys seen Adriana?" asked Luz appearing in the doorway after the medics were gone.

**_!  
WHO SAW THAT COMING?  
_****_THAT'S RIGHT. NOT A ONE.  
Anyway, love you all!  
REVIEW! _**


	34. Back Across the River

_**I love when people like my story and don't sign in and put their names. Someone who entitled their review 'Haha' you made me laugh thanks.  
I wanted to take a moment and say thank you to all my reviewers who are as follows; **__hodhod2011danger, faithxlove, Molly, the everchanging, Amanda, Hello, Liliesshadow,__** and of corse**__ Haha.  
__**Thanks guys!  
Also, I just wanted to let you all know that we reached 100 reviews! It's all thanks to you guys! So again, Love you!  
And finally, I own nothing!**_

* * *

Sun was peaking through the dense cloud cover. One of the sun's rays found Adriana's face. Its warmth woke her with a start. At first she thought she was blind because despite the feeling of the sun, she could see nothing. After a few minutes of struggling with the limbs she couldn't feel, she managed to push her heavy jacket off her face. She groaned and closed her eyes against the bright sun. She slowly began to register the feelings in her body. The first thing she noted was the large headache radiating around her skull. She brought her right hand up to her face and blinked as icy water dripped from her hand and ran down her cheek.

She opened her eyes and looked around her. She was on the river bank almost in the water. Her right sleeve was soaked through all the way up her arm. The dampness had worked its way up over her shoulder and into her collar. Feeling it against her neck, she began to shiver.

"Damn it," she said harshly as she tried to sit up.

She bit back a scream as pain shot up her left leg.

"Damn it," she said again.

She started to get up again, but with a start she realized which side of the river she was on. Her heartbeat suddenly quickened and her eyes darted around looking for any sign she had been seen by either side. The German's guns were quiet, as were the Americans so Adriana believed she was safe; for the moment. She took the moment to ease her way up the bank to some heavy undergrowth and a broken down brick wall. Really it was only five bricks stacked on top of one another, but it gave Adriana something to hide behind and lean against.

It was slow going getting up the bank, even as flat as it was. She was trying to not be seen by the Germans who were sure to be watching the bank for more American troops. Her leg made things slow as well. When she finally got herself under the bush and against the wall she looked over herself. Nothing else hurt except her right hand which was beginning to get the feeling back from being in the icy water all night.

She pulled her soaked jacket off shivering more as the wind whipped at her newly exposed arms. Almost as if it knew one side of her body was soaking wet, it picked up speed making the leaves on the tree she was under rustle. She pulled off her long sleeved shirt; also soaked, then got to work on making sure her leg was ok. She pulled out her knife and cut the leg of her pants off. She hissed as the dried blood ripped away with the cloth.

The wound began to bleed slowly and Adriana looked on the other side of her calf for an exit wound. There was none.

"Great," she said as she tried to look in the small bullet hole to see how deep the bullet was.

She tried to deduce whose bullet it was. It was in the front of her leg to the right of her shin bone, but that didn't necessarily mean it was an American bullet. In all the chaos she was sure she could have gotten shot from the enemy in the front of her leg. She couldn't remember anything before firing the rifle grenade into the window. After that things were so blurry she couldn't even make out faces in her mind. She dimly registered someone being injured, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember who. She picked up her jacket and examined it. To her surprise, she found the entire front scorched with small burn holes in it. She put it down and looked at her front, now only coved with the thin t-shirt. Her chest seemed to be fine but her arms had small burns all the way down to her hands. Now that she noticed them, they were beginning to sting. She furrowed her brow and pressed her lips into a tight line then looked up across the water.

"How the hell am I going to get out of this one?" she asked a bug crawling across her boot.

It didn't answer her so she assumed it didn't know. Across the water she could see men jogging from house to house. How she wished she was over there. She needed to figure out how to get home.

* * *

"How the HELL do you not know where she is?" Luz was shouting at Martin.

"I don't know!" Martin yelled back. "There was a lot of shit flyin' around!"

"It doesn't matter what was flyin' around," Luz said loudly.

"She was leading us!" Martin said rounding on Luz.

"So your saying it's HER fault?" Luz yelled louder still.

Martin growled and spun away from him and continued walking leading an army of Toccoa men all of whom were yelling and asking questions. Their noise was drawing the attention of everyone as Martin and Jones searched for Winters and Speirs. They were not hard to find. They came out of H.Q. with Nixon in toe. He was the one who noticed the mob of people.

"Head's up," he said in just enough time for Winters and Speirs to glance up and back up a few feet.

"What is it Martin?" Winters asked calmly silencing the group of men behind him.

"It's Roosevelt sir," he said a little out of breath. "She is missing."

Winters' eyebrows ascended his forehead slightly.

"Missing? What does that mean?" Speirs asked quickly.

"We believe she-" he paused and glanced at Jones. "Sir we believe she is on the other bank."

All three men's eyes went wide and Speirs' face was covered with an angry expression.

"How did this happen?" Speirs asked his voice venomous.

"We don't know sir," Martin said shrinking before him.

"Who was last to see her?" Speirs asked dangerously.

For a moment no one spoke but finally Jones stepped forward.

"I did sir," he said, drawing Speirs' threatening gaze.

"Well, tell us about it Lt.," Winters said trying to be calm, but his eyes betraying him.

"It was when we were very close to the bank sir. A few seconds before we blew the whistles. No one even noticed she was gone until-"

"Until I pointed it out!" Luz interrupted. "If not for me, they wouldn't have even known she was gone!"

"Alright Luz, relax," Martin hissed.

"I ain't gonna relax!" Luz shouted angrily.

"Yes you are," Winters said silencing him at once. "Shifty!"

The sharp shooter pushed through the crowd at once.

"Yes sir."

"Get up to the tallest tower you can find and scan the bank for her. Jones, Martin, assemble the men. Only the ones who went on the mission last night. Speirs."

Speirs turned his livid gaze on Winters.

"With me. Nix you too."

Shifty tightened his grip on his rifle and looked toward the sky to find the tallest tower. He easily found it and turned and ran into Luz's chest. Luz grimaced, his bullet wound being not totally healed. Shifty blinked at the shorter man a few times. Luz just glared back at him.

"How you feeling Luz?" Shifty asked awkwardly.

"You," he said darkly. "Are going to tell me what happened in Foy with you and her."

Shifty was shocked into silence for a moment.

"Luz we have to find her before-"

"NO!" he yelled. "Tell. Me. Now."

Shifty had his hands up.

"Ok, ok. She got shot in the leg and I helped her back to her room. I told her I loved her and she shot me down. Again."

Luz grinned.

"We started to-" but he stopped, deciding to leave out the details. "She stopped me and said she loved you. I left after that."

Luz was frowning at him.

"She loves you Luz. So much so that she doesn't want to be with anyone else. Don't blame her. Blame me for trying to push my feelings on her. Hell everyone else is."

Luz looked at him for a moment then Speirs noticed them standing around.

"Shifty! Luz! Don't you have something you should be doing!" he yelled.

"Yes sir!" they both responded and as Shifty turned to leave, Luz grabbed his arm.

"I think you're a son of a bitch," he started. "But if she comes back to us, I'm not going to let anything stand in my way."

Shifty grinned softly.

"Nothin' should."

Luz frowned at him for a moment before Shifty turned and headed toward the bell tower. Luz turned and followed Speirs and the Toccoa men into the briefing room. When Luz got there, it was clear there were more than sixteen men. All of the Toccoa men were there talking loudly to be heard over one another.

Malarkey and Talbert were in the front yelling to Jones and Martin trying to get answers why she had been left behind. Liebgott was shouting his disapproval to anyone who would listen. Babe, Grant and Popeye were arguing about who saw her last. Garcia and Ramirez were trying to convince Skinny, Cobb and McClung that Adriana would be fine because she was a fighter. Perconte had come in with Bull a few seconds after Luz and instantly joined in the arguing. Luz sighed as his eyes landed on Webster who was standing in the back, his hands folded; a cigarette hanging from his lips. As he made his way back to him, Winters entered the room, dropping a shroud of quiet over them at once. Nixon, Speirs and Lipton were close on his heels. None of them looked happy.

"We have bad news," Winters said starting in at once. "Sink has not authorized another river crossing."

The room instantly irrupted.

"Does he know the only woman in the whole damn army is over there?" Liebgott finally made himself heard over the clamor.

"Yes," Winters said quietly.

There was a chorus of cursing.

"We have to get her back!" someone shouted from the back.

"Yeah!" someone answered.

Soon they were all in an uproar again shouting reasons why they should cross the river to get her back. After a few seconds, Winters held up a hand. Again, they were quiet at once.

"I cannot order you to cross the river, but I can refrain from ordering you to stay here."

The room was quiet as the meaning of what Winters had said hit them. Some sooner than others. Luz understood almost immediately.

"Sir are you saying-"

"I'm not saying anything," Winters interrupted Jones quietly. "Get some sleep boys."

He turned and exited followed by Nix and Speirs, both of whom looked back at the men as they left. When they were gone, none of the men spoke for a full minute. They glanced at each other before Martin finally broke the silence.

"We go across the river. 0200."

Everyone's eyebrows shot up and there was a second of surprised silence before they broke out into shouts of who was going.

"We need a small squad," Martin said over them.

"How many?" Luz asked.

"Five," Martin asked. "I will be leading and-" his voice was drown out by 25 plus men shouting that they wanted to be one of the five. "Alright shut up!"

They quieted some.

"We will take Liebgott, Talbert, Heffron and Cobb."

"Cobb don't even like her!" Ramirez shouted from the back.

"I'm going too," Lipton stated leaving no room for argument.

Martin nodded.

"I'm coming too," Luz said.

"What the hell do you wanna go for? Your pissed at her, remember?" Liebgott spat.

Luz rounded on him but Martin stopped him.

"You are not fully healed. The last thing we need is for you to fall into the river trying to help. You're not going."

"Come on Martin!" Luz began to argue but Lipton stopped him.

"Martin is right. How do you think Adriana would feel if she knew you were alive then died trying to save her?"

Luz balled his fists and clenched his jaw but gave a quick nod.

"But Cobb is not going."

"Hey I'm worried about her too!" Cobb said loudly.

"Your drunk you asshole! You have been since you fell into the river!" Garcia said rounding on him.

"He's right!" Skinny agreed.

Martin glared at Cobb.

"You stupid fuck," Martin growled. "Perconte, your taking his place."

He glanced around the room.

"Everyone get it?"

There were nods all around.

"Good," Martin said. "Perco go check on Shifty. See if he found her."

Perconte nodded and left the room followed by Lip.

"McClung and Ramirez, go find Doc Roe. Bring him here and tell him we need him on standby in case she is hurt."

McClung and Ramirez darted out the door.

"The rest of you get ready. We don't know what we will find over there. We need to be prepared in case… well we need to be ready for anything."

The room was quiet.

* * *

Perconte and Lip darted through the darkening streets and finally found the tower Shifty was in. Lip took the stairs three at a time while Perconte could only take them in pairs. Despite this, he still managed to reach the top at the same time as Lip. Shifty had his eye pressed to the scope of a sniper.

"How'r you doing Shifty?" Lip asked.

Shifty sighed and leaned away from the scope.

"It's getting to dark. I can't see shit past our side of the bank."

"How are we going to know where to look?" Perconte asked.

Shifty shrugged and looked up at Lip.

"We are just going to have to search the whole other side of the bank," Lip said with a shake of his head.

"Who's going to get her?" Shifty asked.

"Babe, Liebgott, me and Lip," Perconte answered. "And Martin is leading it."

Shifty nodded and put his eye back to the scope just in time to catch ripples in the water.

"I think I saw something," Shifty told them.

"What is it?" Lip asked.

"Just a ripple," Shifty answered slowly. "But I think…"

He trailed off and pulled a flashlight out of his pocket. He held it out the window and clicked it once, held it for a second, then clicked it off. He looked back through the scope and a smile crossed his face.

"I got here."

* * *

Adriana sighed when she saw the flashlight beam from the tallest building on the American side. She knew at once it was Shifty. She scrambled for something to signal him with and found a large rock. She threw it as hard as she could into the river. Adriana was sure the 'kur-plunk' the followed was loud enough to wake the entire German side of town, but she was so glad to see the returning signal that the danger was soon far from her mind. Shifty was signaling.

"0200," she said to herself. "They are coming to get me."

A smile was plastered on her face as she leaned back against the wall to wait for her boys.

* * *

It was dark and cold and Adriana was praying she wouldn't freeze before the boys got there. By her estimation, it was about midnight and she hadn't stopped shivering all day and into the night. She clutched her still damp jacket around her shoulders even though it was doing very little to keep her warm. Finally she heard the bushes by the river rustling. She perked up and ducked further down into the bush she was hiding in.

"Thunder," she whispered.

The rustling stopped and he heard voices that sent chills through her bones.

"Wer ist da? Zeigen Sie sich!"

"Shit," Adriana said to herself.

She edged down the wall even further under the bush, but her elbow knocked a brick loose. She held her breath, but the German's had heard it crash through the dead underbrush. She heard them whisper then a beam of light appeared through the undergrowth. Adriana felt her pupils contract as the light passed over her, then came back. She held her breath as the light passed her again then came back suddenly to rest on her.

"Komm heraus!" one of the German's shouted! "Jetzt! Jetzt!"

Adriana couldn't understand what he was saying but she knew he had seen her.

"Ich bin deutscher!" she yelled the only thing she knew in German.

They talked quickly among themselves for a second then advanced on her. Four pairs of hands were on her pulling her to her feet.

"Warum bist de hier?" the German yelled in her face. "Warum!"

When she didn't answer another German reached for her jacket that was still on the ground. He looked it over then dropped it like it was a contagious disease.

"Sie ist eine amerikanische!"

Adriana knew she was done for when she heard 'American' in the flurry of German.

"ich bin deutscher," she said again raising her hands. "Deutscher! Deutscher!"

"Halt den Mund Liegend Hundin," he said slapping her across the cheek.

The act surprised Adriana into silence for a moment. The German's had Adriana on her knees and were yelling at her in a language she didn't understand. They were using her face as a punching bag trying to get answers out of her. She gritted her teeth against the pain and refused to let the tears fall. She felt one of the German's punches open up a gash on her cheek and blood began to pool in her mouth. Instead of spitting, she just parted her lips and let the blood run down her chin.

The German's seemed to find this funny and punched her still harder. Finally one of the German's picked up a tree limb and began beating her chest and stomach and back. As she felt her half healed rib crack yet again, she realized they could kill her if they really wanted to, but obviously they wanted to have a little fun. She concentrated on praying the boys would get there and end her pain.

After ten more minutes of hitting her with the branch, they drug her away toward town. She was half unconscious, but still fought as much as she could. She feebly scratched at the German's hands holding her upper arm. She felt her broken body sliding over rocks and bushes, gouging chunks of flesh from her legs and torso.

"Please," she said her head lolling to one side. "Please, ju-"

She stopped realizing she was pleading.

"No," she said to herself and she was quiet.

The German's were talking above her and suddenly there was stone ground under her. The German's had dropped her and someone's foot was on the middle of her back, keeping her on the floor. She was lucid enough to register angry tones then the German who had beat her up with the branch on the floor with blood pouring from his nose.

Suddenly the foot was gone from her back and she was being hoisted to her feet by somewhat gentler hands. No one said anything as the new German took her from the room and went up some stairs. A door opened and then there was a soft chair under Adriana. Someone gently patted her cheek.

"Wake up," the German said in perfect English.

Adriana opened her eyes to meet the face of a middle aged man who reminded her strikingly of Captain Winters. She blinked a few times and swallowed.

"What's your name?" the officer asked.

She swallowed again and clenched her jaw but didn't speak.

"You're giving me the silent treatment?" he asked with a grin.

"What do you want from me?" she asked hoarsely.

"Nothing. I just want to be hospitable to a beautiful woman," he said innocently.

"I'm American," she growled hurting her throat.

"Well that doesn't matter now does it?" he said faking a smile.

His green eyes sparkled much like Winters'.

"Why the hell doesn't it matter?" she asked.

"Now, now, that's not lady like," he scoffed softly.

"Well I'm not much of a lady," Adriana shot back.

"It seems… you are."

The German was looking openly at her chest covered only by the thin t-shirt. Adriana frowned and changed the subject.

"Where is my jacket?"

"I threw it in the fireplace," the officer said he said returning his eyes to hers.

"You burned my jacket?" she said raising her eyebrows trying to remember if there was anything important in it.

She glanced down suddenly to make sure the ring she had found was still on her finger. It was and the sight of it made her feel better. She looked up at the German but he was also looking at her ring.

"So why don't you just kill me already? Your boys seemed pretty ready to."

"How did you get on our side of the river?" he asked calmly.

"How the hell do you think?" Adriana asked.

"From the raid last night?"

"No shit."

"You have a dirty mouth."

"So the fuck what?"

"I have never head a woman speak to anyone like that."

"Does it turn you on?"

The German officer was thoughtful for a moment.

"You speak like a soldier."

"You're not as dumb as you look," Adriana said listlessly. "So please tell me why the fuck we are still talking."

"Well my dear, you are a prisoner of war. I will not kill you and I will not allow my men to kill you. On one condition."

"And what would that be?" she asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Give me something on the American's on the other side of the river."

"No," Adriana answered immediately.

The German's eyebrows rose a little.

"No?" he asked.

"You will have to kill me first."

The German's face suddenly changed rather drastically. His eyebrows dropped and furrowed.

"That can be arranged," he growled. "Rasha!"

The door banged open and a young man entered.

"Ja Herr," the kid said.

"Nehmen sie zum Verlies im Keller und verriegeln Sie sie oben. Toten sie nicht noch."

All of it was a lot of gibberish to Adriana, but the kid came over and grabbed Adriana by the arm. She pushed him away easily. The kid looked back helplessly at the officer.

"Nehmen sie!" he shouted motioning to her.

The kid looked between them then tried again. Adriana kicked him in the shins making him hop around on one leg. She grinned at the officer who was glaring at her.

"Get up," he growled as he stood.

She leaned back, crossed her legs and folded her hands over her knees.

"Now," he said quietly.

"Make me," she hissed.

He squinted his eyes at her then, with movements faster than Adriana had expected, he had his large hands around her upper arm and was dragging her from the room. He shoved the kid out of the way and muttered something to the men surrounding him. He shoved Adriana into their waiting hands and they drug her out into the cold night air. Instead of struggling Adriana decided to try something else.

"HELP!" she screamed. "HELP ME! I'm an American! Someone! Hel-"

But her sentence was ripped from her by a blow to the jaw. Stars popped before her eyes and she tasted blood. She spit trying to get the metallic taste out. The Germans drug her across the street and down the road back toward the river. For a minute Adriana thought they were going to take her and drown her, but the last building before they hit the river.

They went up the stone steps, not bothering to lift Adriana over so she didn't hit her head. Finally they came up into a dank room with a lantern on a desk in the left corner. A General was sitting at the desk talking to a young woman. As the door banged open they both looked up.

"Get the FUCK off me!" Adriana yelled struggling against their hands. "You fucking bastards! Let me up then fight me like a man! I will take you all down at once!"

The Germans pulled her up and banged her against the wall, face first.

"Shut up," one of them growled.

There was a flurry of German then the General regarded Adriana with annoyance. Then he shrugged and waved a hand at her.

"Toten," he said.

"Attendre!" the woman shouted.

The German's turned and glared at her.

"Je prendra soin de cela," she said quickly. "Ne pas blesser."

Adriana suddenly recognized the word 'injure.' The woman was speaking French. The Germans glanced at each other then at the General. He squinted at her then nodded.

"Brechen Sie," he said dismissivly. "In den Keller."

The Germans shoved her to the middle of the floor where the woman had a trap door open. The Germans lifted her off her feed and dropped her into the hole. The hole was surprisingly deep and Adriana hit the ground on her feet. Her knees buckled under her and she crumpled to the floor with a groan. She heard the French woman say something angrily to the Germans then climb down a ladder. Adriana pressed her eyes closed as the door above them closed.

"Sont vous blesser?" she asked gently touching Adriana's face.

"I don't speak anything but English," Adriana answered pulling away.

"Are you alright?" she asked in perfect English.

Adriana opened her eyes.

"Are you French?" she asked, ignoring her question.

"No," she said with a sad smile. "I'm American."

"What?" Adriana asked loudly. "How the hell did you get here?"

"The Germans killed my squad a few months back and kept me alive. They brought me here. My name is Hattie by the way."

"Adriana," she said shaking the woman's hand.

"So you're a paratrooper hu?" she asked bringing a damp cloth up to Adriana's bleeding lip.

"How did you know?" she asked.

Hattie laughed.

"Only a paratrooper would have the balls to talk to the enemy like you do."

Adriana grinned.

"We were trained well," Adriana agreed. "What branch are you in?"

"Army. 4th infantry. Charlie company," she answered solemnly.

Adriana looked up at her startled.

"You've been with them since the beginning?"

Hattie nodded.

"D-Day?" Adriana asked.

Hattie nodded again. She was quiet as she tended to a gash on Adriana's cheek.

"My boat was the first to land on Utah beach. Everyone from my boat died. I took a bullet to the calf and lay on the beach until another C company guy I trained with found me and drug me to safety."

Hattie's face fell.

"He died a few minutes later. He ran back out onto the beach trying to save someone else."

"I bet he was a good man," Adriana said quietly.

"How do you know that?" Hattie asked surprising Adriana.

"In their last moments people show you who they really are. He saved your life, and then went to save someone else's. I never met him, but I can tell he was a good guy," Adriana explained.

Adriana thought she could see tears in Hattie's eyes but they were gone as fast as they had come.

"How did you get into the army?" Adriana asked changing the subject.

"Same way you did I assume," Hattie said with a grin.

"I doubt it," Adriana said also smiling. "My name is Adriana Roosevelt."

Hattie looked at her confused for a second then realization dawned on her. Her eyes were as big as saucers.

"Roosevelt? As in the president?"

Adriana smiled.

"Yes. He is my father. I told him I wanted to help after Pearl Harbor. He said ok and a few weeks later I was at camp Toccoa training with the Easy company Paratroopers. Your turn."

"Let's get you situated before I tell you," she said smiling.

She helped Adriana to her feet. Adriana leaned heavily on the taller woman's shoulder because of the bullet in her calf. She was dizzy and nauseous as they made their way slowly across the small room to a mattress. Hattie helped her sit down then covered her with a blanket then went back to cleaning her face.

"I have had a rather checkered past," she began as she cleaned the bullet wound. "My mom got raped and boom. Nine months later I popped out. She married some guy who spent more time drunk than not and he liked to beat us. I killed him when I was nineteen and ran away. It's all a simple sob story that led to the army. It was my obvious choice, even though I figured I would be the only one with a vagina."

Adriana grinned.

"Your friends who you trained with. Are they alive?" Adriana asked, knowing she was wading into dangerous territory.

Hattie sighed keeping her eyes on the wound on Adriana's leg.

"Last I saw, five of my best friends were bleeding to death while the Germans were dragging me away."

"I'm sorry," Adriana said. "There are only a few of my boys left."

"I haven't seen anyone from America in three months," Hattie said finally looking up and meeting Adriana's eyes.

Adriana studied the young woman. She was tall, but almost everyone was taller than her. She couldn't tell anything else about her because it was so dark in the cellar.

"Well look, my boys are right across the river and they are coming to get me at 0200. What time is it?"

"About midnight," Hattie said, a glimmer of hope flashing through her eyes.

"They think I'm on the bank," Adriana said thinking aloud. "They probably will only be in a squad of five or six so not enough to storm this far into town. We have to get out."

Adriana looked up at Hattie.

"There isn't a way out of here. Not without being seen," Hattie said.

"We have to at least to get to the river," Adriana said. "They boys are good, but they aren't miracle workers. Are we underground?"

"Yes," Hattie said.

Adriana glanced around the room and spied a window on the far wall under the door to the room above.

"Alright we have two hours. Are those bastards going to come back?"

"No unless I call them," Hattie said.

"Good. Help me up."

Hattie did and they made their way to the window. It was tiny. If Adriana was any more blessed in the chest area, she would not have even thought about escaping this way. Hattie was going to have a little more trouble, but Adriana figured she could do it.

"Alright here it is. We are going to break that window at about 0130 and run down to the river. We are going to wait by where the boats come across."

"You can't even walk by yourself," Hattie argued. "How the hell are you going to climb through a window and run down to the river?"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. You just worry about you. Can you make it?"

"Of course I can!" she said indignantly. "I'm worried about you."

"Don't be. I can do it."

Hittie raised her eyebrows and sighed.

"0130?"

"0130."

* * *

Hattie spent the next hour and a half cleaning Adriana's many wounds as best she could with a bucket of water and a few bed sheets. The bullet was out of her leg through ten minutes of painful digging on Hallie's part. She had wrapped Adriana's middle with a piece of sheet to keep her rib from moving too much. The worst of the gashes on her face had stopped bleeding, but every time she talked, her lip began bleeding again. Her left eye was swollen a little but nothing hurt as much as her bruised torso where the Germans had beat her with a tree branch.

"Damn it!" she yelled as Hattie tied off her bullet wound.

"Oh relax," Hattie said pulling the sheet tighter. "Shit. It's still bleeding. Hang on."

She stood up and jogged across the room.

"Excusez-moi!" she yelled up the stairs.

"Vas?" a German voice yelled back.

"J'ai besoin d'un couteau et bougie," she said.

There was a few seconds of silence then light came through the open door. Hattie climbed the ladder, grabbed whatever it was she wanted and climbed back down and the light was gone. She walked back over to Adriana and struck a match. She lit a candle and put it next to her. She pulled the knife and stuck the point of the blade in the fire.

"Shit," Adriana growled.

She knew what was coming. After holding it in the fire for a few minutes Hattie pulled it out. The damn thing was orange.

"You ready?" Hattie asked her.

"Do it," she said and braced herself against the wall.

Hattie pressed the orange blade against the inside of the wound on Adriana's leg and she let out a pitiful scream in spite of herself. Hattie pushed her other hand to Adriana's shoulder, keeping her pinned against the wall. When her cry subsided the Germans above could be heard laughing and jeering.

"Shit," Adriana panted. "How many more times do we have to do that?"

"Two or three," Hattie answered. "But its helping."

"It damn well better be helping," Adriana said testily.

She was not happy about the Germans laughing at her pain. After three more times of burning the flesh around her wound Adriana had taken about all she could.

"What – time – is – it – now?" she said having to gulp breaths between each word.

"0100," Hattie answered.

"Half an hour," Adriana said leaning against the wall and wiping the involuntary tears from her cheeks.

"You know, It may not be such a good idea to escape tonight," Hattie whispered close to Adriana's face so the Germans wouldn't hear.

"I don't have a choice. We need to be back on the other side of that river by tomorrow. No matter what."

Hattie wet her lips and nodded slightly.

"For now try to rest," she said.

* * *

0130 came too soon and with some help, Adriana made her way to the window.

"Give me that blanket," she said.

Hattie left her leaning against the wall under the window while she got the blanket. Adriana weakly stood, heavily supporting herself on the wall. Hattie handed her the blanket and Adriana wrapped it around her elbow.

"Make sure the glass doesn't hit the ground," she said to Hattie. "It will make noise."

Hattie nodded and Adriana braced herself for the impact of the glass. Because she was so weak, she had to hit the glass twice before it cracked then once again to break through. Most of the glass fell outside the window but Hattie was forced to catch two large pieces that got caught on her sleeve. Adriana pushed the glass away from the opening and broke off the small shards still attached to the frame.

The two women glanced up as the Germans walked across the floor, but they were quiet after a second.

"Time to go," Adriana said as she began to hoist herself up and out, although Hattie was forced to help her because she was too weak.

Once outside, Adriana stood with her back pressed against the wall. She instantly began to shiver as the wind and softly falling snow whipped against her exposed arms. Hattie appeared an instant later and was standing beside her.

"Which way?" Adriana asked feeling sickly disoriented.

Hattie pointed obviously content to let Adriana lead. It wasn't a problem. Adriana was used to it. They inched their way to the corner of the building, keeping to the shadows. A German with a dog passed, but other than that, the streets were empty. Adriana glanced farther around the corner to make sure no one was coming.

"Alright, let's go," she said to Hattie.

Staying hidden in the shadows of bushes or buildings the two began their long, cold trek to the river. Hattie was fully clothed , but Adriana didn't have shoes or a warm shirt. The adrenaline pulsing through her body helped with the sting of the cold, but not the sting of the burning bullet wound in her calf. She was moving as quickly as she could without stumbling. She knew if she fell, she wouldn't have the strength to get up, even with Hattie's help. Then they would both be in trouble. They jogged past a wood pile Adriana recognized from the night before. They were close. Suddenly an alarm began screaming behind them.

"Looks like they know we're gone," Hattie said helpfully.

"Shit," Adriana said.

She knew it wasn't 0200 yet, and if the Germans knew they were gone, they wouldn't be able to wait for the boys to get there. Without weapons they had no way to keep the Germans at bay. Adriana made it to the fence Martin had cut.

"Go," she said to Hattie. "Under. Now."

Hattie obeyed. Once under, she turned and pulled Adriana under. They climbed over the small hill and slid down to the water. Adriana glanced behind her just as flares ascended into the sky, lighting up the whole river and both banks. Adriana looked back across the bank. The boats were on shore but no one was there getting ready to cross.

"Shit, they aren't there yet," Adriana said looking over her shoulder again as dogs began to bark.

"What do we do?" Hattie asked, her voice trembling.

Adriana looked at the woman, her chocolate eyes sparkling in the light of the flare. Adriana noticed her fiery red hair was adorned with leaves and twigs. She almost grinned but the dogs barks were growing closer.

"We are going to have to swim for it," Adriana finally concluded.

"What?" was Hattie's alarmed response.

Adriana looked at her.

"We can't swim that! The current is strong! We would get swept downstream!"

"It's that or get captured by those bastards and probably killed," Adriana shot back.

Hattie looked thoughtful for a moment then backed up.

"I can't. I can't do it. You go. I'll cover for you."

"Cover for me?" Adriana questioned.

"I can't go across the river," Hattie said backing up still further.

"They will kill you!" Adriana shouted.

"No I – I'll tell them you – you took me! You took me and used me to help you get away! They will take me back!"

"NO THEY WON'T!" Adriana roared. "THEY. WILL. KILL. YOU!"

Hattie had tears in her dark eyes so Adriana changed her tactic.

"Listen," she said hurridly. "You saved my life. Now it's my turn to save yours. Please. You will be alright and you will love the boys. You will be a part of Easy company in no time, but you have to swim. Please Hattie."

The use of her name brought her back to reality. She wet her lips and nodded.

"Good. Ok lets go," Adriana said touching the girl's hand. "Hang onto the rope."

Adriana took a deep breath and plunged her foot into the icy water. At once she wished she hadn't.

"Don't test the water. Just jump in," Adriana warned.

If she wasn't shivering before, she defiantly was now. She waded into the deep water holding onto the rope as she did. It came down into the water under her weight. A small gasp signaled Hattie entering the water. Adriana felt the rope jump as Hattie slipped and clutched at the rope to keep herself above the water. Adriana could hear the German Shepherds closing in on them, their barks getting increasingly higher pitched. Hattie had been correct. The river's current was ridiculous. The only thing keeping Adriana from being swept away was the rope. She was clinging to it with all the strength she had. She had wrapped her arm around it because she could no longer feel her fingers and she feared she would lose her grip on the rope.

As she reached about the middle of the river, she chanced a glance behind her. Hattie was right on her tail.

"Keep moving!" she shouted.

Adriana thought her voice was surprisingly strong considering the water was close to freezing. Adriana could not even make her lungs fully expand. It seemed she couldn't make anything move. Suddenly there was a scream behind her and she turned just in time to see Hattie disappear under the water. Without thinking about her own safety, Adriana dove beneath the water, dousing her previously dry hair. Under the water she couldn't see anything but darkness. She couldn't move her limbs and she had no idea where Hattie was. All she could feel was the unbearable sharp stab of the icy water all over her body. Out of nowhere she emerged from the water, gasping, Hattie's hand in hers. To her delight, Adriana was still holding onto the rope with one hand. Hattie looked miserably cold, and Adriana knew she was, but she was alright. They turned and began again.

Finally Adriana's numb, bare feet hit rocks and she realized she had made it to the other side. It didn't seem like it took long enough but sure enough, Adriana drug herself out on land and turned to try to help Hattie, but her effort was useless. They both ended up toppling back into the water. All their commotion had attracted the attention of the six men coming toward the boats. Liebgott, Talbert, Heffron , Martin, Lipton and Perconte rounded the corner just as the Germans on the other side began to fire on them.

"Holy hell!" was Liebgott's immediate remark.

"Adriana?" Talb asked leaning down and helping up the young Lt.

"H – help he – her," Adriana stammered through chattering teeth.

"Martin and Lip have her. Don't worry. Come here Adri."

Talbert gathered they soaked woman in his arms, trying to mentally transfer heat from his chest to her violently shaking form.

"Make sure Roe is ready!" Martin yelled to Perconte who took off to warn him and the other Toccoa boys who were sure to be waiting with him.

The other three men who were not carrying either of the women ran ahead as well knocking people out of the way.

Adriana could hardly believe she was finally back to her men. Really it had only been a day and a half, but it seemed like years. She felt Talb's arms tighten around her and she settled into a sleep like state. Suddenly a voice broke the fog around her brain. Her eyes shot open searching and when she saw him, she actually didn't believe her eyes.

"Talb is that…"

"Yeah, its Luz," Talb said with a grin.

**_REVIEW! YAYAYAYA_**


	35. Injury Prone

_**Oh Guys this is so difficult! I want every Toccoa man to have a love interest! Tell me what you guys think about who Hattie should be with cause I have it planned that she is going to be with the boys for awhile!**_

* * *

"Luz," Adriana breathed.

Talb felt her relax instantly.

"Bell," Luz said to himself as he ran over to her.

"Luz," she said reaching a shaking hand out to him.

He took it and squeezed. He wrapped his other hand around it as Talb continued running.

"Babe! Go get Winters and Speirs!" Martin shouted.

They burst through the doors to where all the Toccoa men were waiting, Doc Roe in the middle.

"Put em' here," Roe said motioning to the double wide table. Martin and Talb laid their shivering girls down.

"We've got to get deir' clothes off," Roe said pulling Hattie's jacket off.

The men stopped and blinked around at each other. Most of them had seen Adriana naked in the showers and therefore we ok with getting her wet clothes off, but this new girl. They didn't know how she would react to lying naked in front of them.

"Well w – what are y – you w – waiting for?" Hattie asked glancing around at them.

This gave them license to be ok with the taking off of her clothes. For now anyway. Talb and Luz helped Adriana out of her to articles of clothing and Roe, Liebgott and Martin helped Hattie with hers.

"Cover em' up," Roe said. "Keep em' warm."

Jackets and blankets were thrown over the girls and pillows pushed under their heads. Luz rubbed his hand up and down Adriana's arm trying to create friction.

"You're alive," Adriana said to Luz.

"Well ain't you observant," Luz said with a grin.

"I went t – to the hospital to vi – visit Guarnere and y – you weren't there. I – I – I thought that mm – meant you were-"

"Not me, Bell. You can't get rid of me that easy," Luz said smoothing her hair.

"Your n – not mad anymore?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

Luz smiled and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"No baby."

Adriana's face relaxed instantly then suddenly her eyes closed and her head fell back against Talb's waiting hands.

"DOC!" Luz yelled.

He looked over Hattie to make sure she didn't have any major wounds, but Hattie grabbed his arm.

"They beat her," Hattie said. "S – she needs your help m – more than I do."

Roe nodded and went around the table to tend to Adriana.

"What are her injuries?" Roe asked Hattie.

"B – bullet wound in the calf, a p – pretty bad cut on her cheek and above her eye and I t – think a few ribs are broken."

"Damn it," Roe hissed. "That damn thing is never going to heal."

"Roe is she alive?" Luz asked frantically.

"For now," Roe said feeling her neck for a pulse. "But she is in bad shape. We need to get 'er warm. Malarkey, put that plasma over the fire for a few minutes to get it warm. Watch those tubes to make sure they don't melt. When the plasma is warm, make that fire as big as you can and boil some water."

Malarkey took the plasma from Roe's bag and put it in a pot then hung it above the fire watching it carefully.

"Floyd, watch her breathing. Make sure its steady. Malarkey, where is that plasma?"

"Right here Doc!" Malarkey said handing it to him.

"Good. We are moving her closer to the fire. Someone put a blanket down."

As Luz and Talb prepared to lift her Malarkey laid two blankets on the hearth before the fire. Luz lifted Adriana's body and Talb held her head. Roe knelt down beside her arm and straightened it and felt for a vein. He tied a tourniquet around her bicep, held it in his teeth and pulled it tight then stuck the needle in her arm. She made no movement.

"Hold dis'," Roe said handing the plasma to Perconte. "Don where is dat water?"

"Got it right here Doc," Malarkey said handing him a canteen full of warm liquid.

"George, get her to drink," Roe said handing him the bottle.

Luz lifted her head up and put the canteen to her lips.

"Adriana, wake up. Come on baby you need to drink."

Adriana didn't open her eyes, but her lips parted a little way.

"That's my girl," Luz whispered with a smile as some of the liquid made its way down her throat.

"Is s – she alright?" Hattie asked now sitting up on the table with a large blanket wrapped around her body.

Liebgott was sitting next to her, an arm around her shoulder. Roe didn't answer her.

"Hey!" Liebgott said loudly. "Is she ok?"

Roe didn't answer but continued cleaning the many cuts and gashes she had accumulated. He got to the bullet wound and clenched his jaw.

"I had to cauterize it," Hattie said knowing what he was looking at. "It wouldn't stop bleeding."

"You a nurse?" Liebgott asked her.

Hattie shook her head.

"I have had to patch myself up enough times to know how to do it effectively."

"There is still part of the bullet in there," Roe informed them.

"What?" Hattie said surprised. "But I got it out."

"The bullet shattered. You only got half of it out."

"Damn it," Hattie said bringing her hand up to her face.

"Gimmy some light," Roe said.

McClung, Ramirez and Skinny shone their flashlights on Adriana's leg as Babe appeared with Winters, Nixon and Speirs. Bull came up behind Roe and knelt at Adriana's side ready to hold her down while Roe dug for the bullet. Lip took her other side and nodded at Roe. He pulled out a pair of long tweezers and began to dig for the piece of the bullet. At first Adriana didn't move, which was terrifying for everyone, but a few seconds in, her eyes snapped open and she sat up only to be pushed down by Bull and Lip. Talb held her shoulders and Luz whispered in her ear trying to calm her. She swore loudly and grabbed for Luz's hand. He caught hers.

"Hang in there Bell. It'll be over soon."

"It had better be!" she growled, her other hand holding onto Bull's collar.

Hattie suddenly launched herself off the table and knelt next to Bull taking Adriana's hand. The touch of another woman seemed to calm Adriana as much as seeing Luz had when they were coming into town. Roe got the piece out quickly then took Hattie's method of stopping the bleeding. Not something Adriana was all too excited about. When it was all over, the two girls had been on the American side of the river for half an hour.

Adriana was resting on the hearth almost in the fire against Luz's knees with Hattie close by her side when Winters came over followed closely by Speirs.

"Sir," Adriana said weakly saluting.

He raised a hand.

"Rest Roosevelt. Who is this?" he asked referring to Hattie.

"This is Hattie sir. I found her on the German side."

Hattie stood, pulling the blanket around her, conscious she didn't have any clothes on. She saluted.

"Hattie McDurman."

"You're an American?" Speirs asked rather harshly.

"Yes sir," she answered.

"How did you end up here?" Winters asked.

"I'm supposed to be here," she answered. "Well sort of. I enlisted in the army at the army base in Flagstaff."

"Who are you with?" Speirs asked looking skeptical.

Army. 4th infantry. Charlie company," she rattled off.

"You went up the beach on D-Day?" Nixon asked surprised.

"Utah beach, yes sir," she answered with a nod.

"Well I guess you fared ok," Nix said with a grin.

"I did sir. Took a bullet in the calf, but I was the only one from my boat to make it past the beach."

"I'm sorry," Winters said.

Hattie shook her head.

"It was a long time ago sir," she said with a sigh. "The German's attacked me and my squad. They took me and –" she paused to push the teas away. "They killed my boys."

The men in the room sighed and their faces fell. Everyone in the room knew what it was like to lose brothers, so they were sympathetic to Hattie. Liebgott rested a hand on her lower arm.

"The Germans took me and made me their slave. They didn't kill me because they thought I was French. I told them the Americans were keeping me prisoner and that they dressed me up like an American so that if they were attacked, the Germans would kill me too. The morons believed me. I was there for three months when three scouts found Adriana on the bank. They realized she wasn't going to tell them anything, so they were going to kill her."

Hattie looked back at Adriana who was having a problem keeping her eyes open she was so tired.

"The way she was fighting them and talking to them, she was more trouble than she was worth."

All the men in the room grinned and Talb patted her shoulder.

"That's our girl," Babe grinned.

"Well don't worry Mrs. McDurman, we will get you back to your unit," Winters promised.

Hattie nodded.

"Until then you will stay with us. Heffron."

Babe stepped forward.

"Get Hattie and Adriana some clothes."

Babe stepped out the back door just as Shifty came in. Seeing Adriana, he hurried forward, but seeing Luz he stopped.

"Hey Shift," Adriana said weakly. "Thanks for finding me on the bank."

Shifty nodded.

"How is she?" Shifty asked Roe.

"She is fine," Adriana said annoyed.

"Not if she doesn't get some rest," Roe commented dryly. "And I mean _real_ rest."

"Yeah Roe, I think I'll be sleeping for a few days at least," Adriana said with a soft laugh.

She leaned her head back against Luz and closed her eyes. She was asleep quickly. Luz smiled and let out a soft sigh. Everyone then looked up at Winters.

"Everyone disperse and go get some sleep. We are heading out tomorrow. Into Germany."

Everyone looked around. Some had surprise written on their faces, others, dread.

"Alright boys. Off to your rooms. Heffron, Liebgott, Luz and Talbert, stay here with Roosevelt and McDurman. Doc you stay too. Make sure Roosevelt gets through the night," Winters said. "We roll out at 1200 hours."

The men obeyed and slowly went off to their rooms. Liebgott pulled three mattresses out of the back for Hattie, Talbert and Babe who had just come back into the room with two full army uniforms. He handed one to Hattie who smiled and thanked him and dropped on next to Adriana who was snoring quietly. Hattie went into the back to change and Talbert helped Babe and Liebgott drag the mattresses as close to the fire as they could get.

"Where you gonna sleep Luz?" Babe asked.

"Right here," he said with a grin.

The other three shook their heads at the love struck puppy, but didn't bother making fun of him.

"You want a mattress Doc?" Liebgott asked.

"Naw you boys go ahead. I'll sleep here," he answered from his place on the other side of Adriana.

He pulled a blanket up around his neck and continued his vigilant gaze over Adriana's still form. Liebgott shrugged and turned back as Hattie emerged in a clean uniform. She had a smile plastered on her face.

"What'r you smilin' at?" Liebgott asked matching her grin.

She looked up from her new uniform.

"I haven't been in an American uniform for three months," she said. "It just feels good."

Liebgott grinned at Talbert and Babe.

"Alright you heard Winters," Talb said. "Let's all get some sleep. We have had a long day."

"I second that!" Hattie said enthusiastically.

She chose the middle mattress and threw herself down on it, suddenly exhausted. Talb and Babe took the other two and Liebgott started to lie down on the floor, but Hattie sat up.

"Get over here," she said smiling and waving a hand.

Talb, Luz, Babe and even Roe raised their eyebrows at Liebgott. He furrowed his brow then shrugged. He stepped over Talb and sat between Babe and Hattie. Babe looked annoyed, but Liebgott was not about to trust Babe next to Hattie all night. Though he did trust himself. He sent a smirk Babe's way before he lay down and snuggled beneath the blanket.

* * *

April 9th 1945

The month after Adriana got back to Easy was filled with pain from her injuries, but mostly good things for the company. Lip got his battlefield commission to 2nd Lt. Jones got a battlefield commission to 1st Lt. and was transferred out of Easy, and Captain Winters became Major Winters. To Adriana's delight, Hattie was being well accepted into Easy Company. She was as good as Adriana, but underappreciated with Charlie Company. All of the men seemed to think it was open season seeing as there was a free woman in their company again, but Hattie was taking it all in stride. Adriana very much enjoyed having another woman around. More than she thought she would, although Hattie was far from a normal woman. She was a soldier just like Adriana. On another note, Adriana was truly sad to see Jones leave. She was hoping to get to know the kid better. He had a good soldier in him, but it was not to be. Maybe she would see him again someday.

For the better part of the month of March, Easy Company had resided in Sturzelburg. There had been many sexual encounters by most of the men with some of the German women. Easy also received more replacements, as usual. One in particular seemed to get on Perconte's last nerve every time. Adriana had heard about a time when they were both on century duty and Perconte had yelled at the poor kid. Nixon did an impromptu jump where he and two other men were the only ones who made it out. Adriana and Talb knew how he felt, but he was in a foul mood, so they didn't try to speak to him. Then Nixon's drinking problem had become obvious when he ran out of Vat 69 and broke into a German liquor store to find more. Because Speirs sent hundreds of silver trinkets he had found abandoned home to America he seemed to be in an all around good mood.

Adriana was headed to her room when Genovetch skidded to a stop next to her and told her the news that 300,000 Germans had just surrendered and Easy was moving out. Adriana had been so happy she had kissed Genovetch on the cheek then hobbled off to her room to collect her belongings. She opened the door and was met with Luz about to open the door from the inside.

"What are you doing in here?" Adriana asked narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing," he said quickly.

"Yeah right," Adriana said coming in and shutting the door then leaning against it. "Tell me what you were doing."

Luz looked at his feet, defeated.

"Liebgott told me you had a ring on your finger when you all left Foy."

Adriana frowned at him then pulled her right hand up in front of Luz.

"I found it outside my door in Foy. It's pretty."

Luz grinned.

"Why were you looking for it?" she asked.

"I found it in Foy. I was going to give it to you. When I go to your door, I saw you and Shifty. I was so mad I dropped it and ran. After we argued I went to find it."

Luz paused and looked into her grey eyes. They were curious; begging him to continue.

"I wanted to find it so I could give it to you and tell you how sorry I was for yelling at you, and that I loved you."

Adriana felt tears in her eyes as Luz took her hand and pulled the ring off then took her left hand in both of his. He looked down at the ring then extended her long fingers.

"I love you Adriana Roosevelt," he began. "Will - "

"Wait," she interrupted him.

He looked up.

"I love you too, but please don't ask me to marry you."

"Fine," Luz said a mischievous grin on his face. "Be with me forever?"

Adriana let out a sigh, but her face changed.

"Ask me again when the war is over," she said retracting her hand from his.

"Adriana Roosevelt, you are so difficult," Luz said putting the ring in his breast pocket. "But when this is over, I will marry you."

Adriana grinned just as the door behind her opened. Adriana almost fell over, but Lipton caught her.

"We are moving out! Let's go!" he said happily.

Adriana glanced at Luz, gathered her few belongings and followed Lip down the stairs and out to the trucks. Easy was milling around loading gear, ammo and weapons onto trucks. There was a general air of joy as they got ready to move out again. Adriana spied Perconte talking to Speirs and she headed that way. She and Luz came up to them as Perconte was saying, "The alps?"

"That's in Bavaria," Web said.

"So that means no drop into Berlin?" Luz asked ruefully.

"No drop into Berlin," Speirs confirmed. "Hitler ordered the Whaffan SS to hold up in the mountains and repel all the invaders. Hitler wants to start a Gorilla war."

"Invaders," Bull said with a smile.

"Damn I like the sound of that," Adriana said happily.

Luz climbed up into the truck and turned to help Adriana up.

"Damn," she said feeling the wound in her calf stretch painfully as she stepped up.

Luz patted her back gently making her half healed rib sting. She sat down hard between Perconte and Luz. Liebgott came up last with Hattie right behind him. Perconte was talking across Adriana to O'Keefe when she heard the faint song starting from the back of the company. She held up a hand to Perconte to shut him up.

"Hattie you are about to learn one of the best things training taught us Paratroopers," Adriana said.

Perconte, Web, Liebgott, Luz and Genovetch looked around confused, but as the music reached their ears, smiles crossed their faces and they began to sing as the trucks rolled out.

"_Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die, he ain't gonna jump no more!"_

Hattie raised her eyebrows at Liebgott who was singing off tune to his heart's delight.

"_The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome. Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones. The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground. He ain't gonna jump no more! Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die! Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die, he ain't gonna jump no more!"_

The trucks bounced along taking the singing Paratroopers farther into Germany. They all were enjoying themselves singing the words they all had imprinted on their brains from ridiculous runs up Currahee or down time that they had in the barracks. Even Nixon, who's wife had just sent him a dear John letter saying she was taking everything was grudgingly singing along.

"_He hit the ground, the sound was "Splat," his blood went spurting high. His comrades they were heard to say, "A helluva way to die!" He lay there rolling 'round in the welter of his gore. He ain't gonna jump no more!"_

Hattie cringed at the song and Liebgott laughed.

"_Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die. Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die, he ain't gonna jump no more!"_

The ended with a scary high not from some of the men, and the truckload of paratroopers calmed down. Some began to smoke, other read, still others, like Luz, threw a baseball annoyingly close to Adriana's head.

"Would you quit that!" she said shrilly.

She grabbed for the ball but missed, though she did succeed in knocking Luz off the bench. She grinned, but the glee was short lived. He caught her wrist and pulled her off on top of him in the process hitting Perconte in the back of the head.

"Watch it will yah?" Perconte yelled.

Luz and Adriana couldn't have cared less about what Perconte or any of the other boys thought.

"Fight!" Liebgott called to the rest of the truck.

In the small space at the bottom of the truck didn't give Luz much room to roll her over, but somehow he managed to get on top. The men around them had jumped up onto the bench to give the good natured wrestlers more room. They were chanting 'fight,' like high scholars in the cafeteria. Even Hattie was joining in by occasionally hitting Luz on the back of the head, trying to help Adriana.

"You wanna get in on this too?" he asked her after a particularly hard smack.

Even as he said this, Adriana got the upper hand, rolled him over and pinned him to the bed of the truck. Adriana was straddling Luz's middle leaning hard against his wrists, keeping him down. He struggled a for a moment, then a cheeky grin spread across his face. Adriana frowned confused, then realized he was grinning because of the situation they found themselves it. She stood, using Hattie's knee as leverage and sat herself back on the bench. Luz, still grinning, stood and sat next to her. Adriana chose not to look at him, but listened to the conversation between Web and Liebgott. Adriana noticed Hattie listening intently too.

"It's gonna be good times Web. When we get home I mean."

Adriana thought Webster looked annoyed to be disrupted from eating.

"First thinig I'm gonna do is get my job back as a cabby in Frisco. Make a killin' off all those sailors coming home." He paused. "Then I'm gonna find myself a girl with a smile to die for."

He then proceeded to turn and wink at Hattie, who shoved his shoulder and gave a small smile. He turned back to Web.

"Marry her, then I'm gonna buy myself a house. A big house for all the little Liebgotts we're gonna be making."

Adriana almost laughed. The smile on Liebgott's face was the most adorable, priceless thing she had ever seen. She glanced at Hattie whose face was pink behind the newspaper she was pretending to study.

"Genovitch, whatcha reading?" Luz asked catching Adriana's attention.

"An article," Genovitch answered distractedly.

"No shit," Luz said. "What's it about?"

"Why we are fighting the war," he said dismissively.

"Why are we fighting the war Genovitch?" Luz asked curiosity taking over.

"It seems that the German's are bad. Very bad," Genovitch said, his eyes never leaving the paper.

"You don't say? The German's are bad hu?"

Genovitch nodded. Adriana laughed as Luz turned to Perconte who was brushing his teeth.

"You hear that Frank?" Luz asked across Adriana. "This guys said the Germans… are bad."

Perconte shook his head and Adriana ran a hand over her face.

"Learn something new every day hu?" Adriana asked.

She turned her attention back to Liebgott who was saying, "No way! I love to read!"

"Yeah?" Web asked sounding mildly interested.

"Dick Tracy and Flash Gordon mostly," Liebgott said completely serious.

Web looked at him, mouth open, surprise written on every inch of his face. He turned to Adriana, who's face matched his. Web recovered and looked at Hattie who's eyes were glued to Liebgott over her paper.

"You got a keeper right here Hattie," Web commented going back to his meal.

Liebgott missed the comment, but Hattie's eyes went wide and the paper flew back up in front of her eyes. Adriana shook her head and looked out over the edge of the truck. Her attention was drawn to the only sign she had seen in years in English.

'_You are now entering enemy territory. Keep on the alert.'_

"What, more alert than we have been?" Luz asked seeing the sign.

"Apparently we are not alert enough as it is," Adriana said with a sigh.

That night they stopped in a town Adriana didn't care to know the name of. They kicked German families out of their houses so the Americans could sleep soundly. Adriana told Speirs it was crazy and she wanted to sleep in the trucks, but he hadn't listened, so she took matters into her own hands. She and Hattie slept in the back of the trucks. Luz and Liebgott quickly joined them, and then Talbert, McClung and Garcia joined them. Eventually Perconte, Malarkey, Lipton, Shifty, Babe and Christenson had joined them and that's how they stayed until the next day when they moved off again.

At about noon that day, the American convoy parted and drove down either side of a line of the 300,000 German's who had surrendered. At first Adriana had no words. No one did. The higher ranking Germans were riding in a cart drawn by two Clydesdales. The rest of the Germans were literally marching. None were speaking or smoking, just marching. The only thing betraying them was their eyes. All of them looked terrified. Suddenly a yell from next to Adriana broke her thoughts. It was Webster.

"Hey! Hey you!" Web stood up in the back of the truck as the German officers looked behind them. "That's right you stupid Kraut bastards!"

Adriana leaned away from Web to look up at his face.

"What are you doing?" Hattie said leaning forward to pull on Web's sleeve.

He shrugged her off.

"Thaaats right! You stupid, fucking bastards! Say hello to Ford and General fucking Motors! You stupid fascist PIGS!"

The Germans watched Web with open fascination. Most of them couldn't understand what he was saying so he was really just making a fool of himself.

"Look at you!" he continued to yell. "You have horses! What were you thinking?"

"Shut up," Hattie said pulling him to his seat with the help of Garcia.

"Dragging our asses around the world," Web began again.

"Oh here we go," Adriana said.

She stood pushing Hattie in front of her. She didn't want to hear Web's rambling and shouting and she knew Hattie didn't either. The two girls made it to the back of the truck as Web stood up again.

"Interrupting our lives for WHAT?"

Adriana sat on the bench in front of Luz who was sitting atop the wood siding. She pulled her knees up and leaned back against his leg. She reached up and stuck her hand out. Luz put the cigarette between her outstretched fingers and she brought it back down to her lips. Hattie sat across from her next to Liebgott and listened to Webster yell and scream at the German's until his voice was gone After about a mile, the surrendered Germans were gone, and the American convoy was once again in a single file line on the skinny road.

They passed a small house that had yelling coming from inside. Two British soldiers shoved three Germans out of the house. The American's their attention to watch. The British men were shouting at the Germans then one of them pulled out a Luger and killed all three, execution style. Someone gasped at the end of the truck. Adriana leaned around to see O'Keefe.

"Poor kid," she said.

"Looks like he is going to cry," Hattie said.

"Damn replacements," Luz and Liebgott said at the same time.

After all day of driving, they finally reached the nameless town they were headed to. Speirs set up patrols to go make sure the woods were safe. Speirs assigned Adriana to find rooms for everyone for when they got back. Adriana figured it had something to do with the last town they stopped in, so she didn't argue. Hattie joined her. This town didn't have as many damn people in it, but Adriana still was forced to move a few people out. As they were leaving, one man began yelling that he was not a Nazi. Adriana laughed remembering what Perconte said in the last town.

"We have been in German a long time, and I have yet to meet a Nazi."

Hattie laughed as they pushed the old man out of the apartment. The door closed and the two girls leaned against it. The apartment was nice. Adriana very much enjoyed it. She looked at Hattie, who had a big smile on her face. At the same moment, they pushed off the wall and ran for the bed. They vaulted onto it and began jumping. They shrieked and laughed like little girls. After a few minutes Hattie threw herself down on the bed. Hattie crossed her legs and sat beside her. Both were panting. Hattie looked at Adriana.

"So you and Luz hu?" she asked.

Adriana looked at her with a grin.

"I didn't come into Toccoa wanting to find a man, but with as many of them as there are here, I guess it was inevitable.

Hattie laughed.

"And what about you?"

"What about me?" Hattie asked.

"You and Liebgott seem to like one another," Adriana said pushing her lightly.

Hattie blushed.

"Ooo you do like him!" Adriana said sitting up.

"It's not that simple. I kind of had a man from Charlie company. I don't know if he is even still alive. Besides I - "

"Miss. McDurman," Speirs said coming through the door.

The girls looked up.

"We have found your Company. We have a jeep waiting outside to take you there."

Hattie looked like she might cry. She appealed to Winters who was standing behind Speirs.

"Sir, I don't want to go. Can't you just transfer me here or something?"

Winters showed a small smile.

"If that is what you want."

"It is sir!" she said happily.

"Then that is what will happen. I will tell your Company Commandeer. Roosevelt. We need to see you."

Adriana smiled at Hattie happily, then followed Winters into the hall. Nixon was leaning against the wall when Adriana got out there. Winters and Speirs stood in front of her.

"What's going on?" she asked suddenly worried.

"Adriana, there is no easy way to tell you this," Winters began holding her gaze.

Adriana searched his eyes.

"Your father died."

Adriana didn't say anything. His words hadn't sunk in yet. Her father? The President? He was dead? How?

"How?" she croaked.

No one spoke.

"How!" she yelled suddenly.

"A stroke," Nixon said not meeting her gaze.

He handed her an envelope. it had her name written across the top. That was all. She ripped it open.

"_Lt. Adriana Roosevelt._

_ I am sorry to have to inform you that your father, Mr. Roosevelt, has died. He was found in the oval office this very morning. Your family very much wishes to speak to you. As your father's replacement, I, Harry S. Truman, the new Commander in Chief, am ordering you home. I never agreed with your father. Women do not belong in the field. Come home Adriana. You have been through enough. Come home to your family._

_Sincerely yours,  
Harry S. Truman."_

Adriana finished the short letter and read it again. She then looked up at the three officers.

"I'm not leaving," she hissed.

She thought she saw Speirs smile.

"No one wants you to," Winters said. "And I will not order you to."

Adriana sighed then felt her strength leaving her.

"I'm going to go now," she said bluntly.

Winters nodded and squeezed her arm. Nixon enveloped her in a long hug then let her go without a word. Speirs put a hand over hers. She looked up to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry Roosevelt," he said.

She nodded and turned back to her room where Hattie was still waiting.

"My father is dead," she said looking at her feet.

Hattie was across the room in a few seconds. She helped Adriana back to the bed and sat with her until she cried herself to sleep.

_**Alright guys, so for Hattie's love interest I'm thinking Shifty or Liebgott.**_

_**Shifty – I think it would be cool if Shifty had someone because Adriana turned him down but it was ok because someone was coming for him anyway.**_

_**Liebgott – I just love me some Lieb  
Next chapter will be the concentration camps!  
Tell me what you guys think please!  
REVIEW!**_


	36. Hell of a Way to Die

_**Hi everyone! I am so excited that so many people like my story! I just wanted to thank my reviewers, **_Amanda, Dreamcloud123, skymoon1977, Horsesareamazing, Molly _**and someone who didn't leave their name. I love all you guys and I do this for you! Hope you enjoy!  
As always, Unfortunately, I own nothing but Adriana and now Hattie.**_

* * *

All Adriana wanted was to be in Luz's arms. She had been sleeping for an hour when she opened her eyes. The reality of her situation hit her in the face and tears came again, but she pushed them away and sat up.

Hattie was across the room looking out the window. She turned when the bed squeaked. Her arms were crossed and her face was tear stained.

"What's wrong?" Adriana asked suddenly concerned.

"Nothing, I'm fine. How are you?" she asked wiping her eyes.

Adriana set her jaw and stood.

"What's going on?"

Hattie sighed.

"My CO doesn't want me to stay here. He has ordered me to come back to Charlie Company."

Adriana felt the little strength she had gained from her nap leaving her. Tears stung her eyes again.

"Hattie no. You can't leave," Adriana said reaching out a hand to her.

Hattie crossed the room, took her hand and sat beside her.

"My CO is coming to pick me up in the morning."

Adriana didn't know why Hattie leaving seemed to be affecting her more than her father's death. Maybe it was because Hattie was sitting right in front of her, maybe it was because she seemed to have a strange bond with Hattie because they were the only females either of them had met in almost three years. Either way the last thing Adriana wanted was Hattie to leave. She needed her almost as much as she needed Luz.

Adriana looked into her friend's eyes. The usual chocolate brown color was brighter with new tears. Her pale complexion was coated with a layer of dirt, with clean patches on her cheeks where she had wiped her tears away. Her normally tame hair fell in unruly red waves across her shoulders. It was much brighter than Malarkey's Ginger hair. Hattie was a true red head. She squeezed Adriana's hand.

"I need to find Luz. And you should tell Liebgott," Adriana said standing.

Hattie nodded her agreement and they left the room. They made their way down the stairs and out of the building just as Perconte came running past. He saw her and changed direction.

"Frank what's wrong?" Adriana asked taking in his ghostly appearance.

"Where's - Winters?" he asked through gasps.

"At HQ I think," Hattie said

They set off at a run, turning a corner and almost knocking Winters off his feet.

"Roosevelt. McDurman. Perconte what is going on?" Winters asked, also registering Perconte's face.

"Sir we found… well I don't know exactly sir. Out on patrol… we were,"

"What? What, Frank what is it?" Winters asked trying to calm him.

"I don't know sir, I don't know. You need to come see for yourself."

"Ok let's go," Winters said starting to move forward.

"Sir, we are going to need help. Everybody," Perconte said, his dark eyes worried.

Winters glanced at Adriana and Hallie who shrugged in unison.

"Roosevelt, gather the men. We are moving out in ten minutes. McDurman, find Speirs. Tell him what's going on. Perconte, go with her. Tell them to meet at the trucks."

"Yes sir," the three responded and took off.

Adriana had the men assembled in five minutes and they began to drive, Perconte in the lead jeep with Winters and Hattie and Adriana in the back. He directed them into the woods. As they went along, Adriana began to smell something.

It got progressively worse as they continued to drive. It was a warm, sickening odor that seemed to settle on everything. Adriana could almost feel it working its way into her pours. Twice she had to work very hard to hold her lunch down because she was even beginning to taste the smell that was hanging in the air. Every once in a while she would glance behind her at the following vehicles and someone would be retching over the side of a truck. She felt Hattie slip a hand into hers and squeeze. She met her eyes. They were huge. Adriana realized hers probable looked the same. Perconte seemed almost unfazed by the smell until they rumbled out of the forest onto what looked like a giant cage where animals should be kept.

The rest of the men were just as perplexed as Adriana as they stepped out of the trucks. Hattie stepped out of the Jeep with Adriana, hand in hand until she spied Liebgott. She ran to him. Adriana spotted Bull sitting with his back against the fence looking at the ground. Luz was not far off pacing. She jogged to him. When he didn't immediately notice her she laid a hand on his bicep. He looked at her with sad, confused, brown eyes. His jaw was clenched, his lips pressed into a hard line. They held her gaze for a few seconds until he turned to the enclosure. Adriana followed suit and noticed something she hadn't before. She gasped, finally realizing what the smell was.

She had been so focused on Luz and what was wrong with him she hadn't cared to notice what was behind the fence. There had to be at least a hundred men wearing what looked like pajamas, although the stripped clothes were falling off of their skeletal figures. They all had their hair hap-hazardly chopped off, and from what Adriana could see, they were all men, although it was hard to tell. They were all speaking German and reaching through the wide spaces in the fence. The fence, Adriana noticed with horror, was made of barbed wire. She took a few steps toward their outstretched hands.

She looked imploringly at Winters who was staring, wide, blue eyes at the men. As if he knew she was looking at him, he turned to her. Continuing to hold her gaze he instructed Perconte to open the gate. He did, and it seemed the stench hit them all harder once there was no fence holding it in. Not that it had been doing much good in the first place. As Christenson gently parted the prisoners so they could get in Adriana got a glimpse of how big this place really was. Though the fence was high, Adriana couldn't see the fence on the other side. For a moment no one moved, but with a look exchanged between Winters and Nixon, they entered.

As the rest of the men slowly entered and Roe and the other medics got instantly to work, Adriana hung back. Her jaw and fists were clenched and her lips were in a hard line. She knew her eyes betrayed her. She could feel tears threatening to overflow, but she kept reminding herself that she had to be strong for her men. Finally, with a quiet sigh, she slid in.

She watched as the men from Easy began to mingle with the prisoners. The men seemed almost afraid of the soldiers at first. Eventually though, they seemed to realize they were Americans. She heard Winters yell for Liebgott. She glanced around and saw Liebgott, followed closely by Hattie, make his way to Winters' side. As she was watching, a prisoner crawled up to her on his knees. She had to clench her jaw again to keep the tears at bay as this fragile shell of a man slithered up to her. She stepped forward and closed the space between them and helped him up.

When he was in her arms, she was able to feel the lack of muscle, fat, even his skin seemed thinner than it should be. She could put her fingers between every vertebra on his back like the laces of a football. He was sobbing something into her shoulder. Adriana didn't know a word of German, but she could guess it was something like thank you.

"You're going to be ok," she whispered holding his sickly form close to her.

She hoped she wasn't hurting him because she was hugging him so tightly. It was all she could do to hold him up he was so weak. She looked over his head for help and saw Roe. She shouted his name and he jogged over.

"This guy doesn't look good. Help him Roe," she implored as she sank to the ground with him still in her arms.

Roe helped her lay him on the ground and did a quick once over on him, but before he had finished the man was gone. Adriana frantically felt for a pulse, but was at a loss.

"We have to do something Doc," she said as tears flowed freely down her face.

Roe watched her search frantically for a pulse for a few seconds then covered her hands with his, stilling them. She looked up at him with doe eyes.

"There are more we can help," he reminded her gesturing with a nod to the rest of the camp.

She leaned back on her heels looking at the man for a moment, then up at Doc Roe. She abruptly stood and put her hand down to help him. He took it and stood there holding her hand between them until she pulled free and threw her arms around his neck. He closed his eyes and leaned his head down on top of hers. He let her sob for about a minute then she pulled away and wiped the tears.

"Go on," she said, her voice hardly above a whisper. "Go help some people. I'll be fine."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, go."

He nodded and jogged away toward the sound of his name. Adriana was being too strong and he knew it, although he knew why as well. She took her responsibilities as a Lt. very seriously. In most cases this was a good thing, but Roe could see her cracking under the pressure of helping all these men. He made a mental note to talk to Luz about it later and see if he couldn't crack farther into her hardened heart.

Adriana walked through the camp for half an hour, watching her men interact with the prisoners. She dimly heard Winter's and Nixon yelling orders to get the men food and water, but she was to numb to do anything about it. As she walked, her eyes landed on a prisoner lying in a ditch hugging another frail figure to his chest. He was wailing as the limp man in his arms dangled lifelessly. The next man she looked at was just as malnourished as the man he was carrying. While watching them, she tripped over something. She landed hard on her knees and turned to see why she had fallen. She came face to face with a boy who couldn't be over ten, and he wasn't going to get any older.

Adriana's hands inadvertently came up to her face, smearing the dirt already on her cheeks with her tears and grime from her hands. It seemed the moment she dragged her eyes away from one horrific scene, one that was even worse met her eyes. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to go on in this camp seeing as she couldn't even get her feet under her. She slowly came out of her numbness and realized there was someone sitting next to her. She turned to face him and was met with green eyes.

"You alright Adri?" Shifty asked putting a hand on her arm carefully.

"I knew the German's were bad, but how could they do this, Shifty?" Adriana asked almost too quietly for Shifty to hear her. "These are people."

"I don't right know Adri. I don't right know. Do you want to wait outside?" he asked.

"I want to help. I-" but she was interrupted by Malarkey.

"Rosie! Where are you?"

"Here Malark!" she yelled back, suddenly getting her feet under her.

"Winter's wants you up front," he said jogging to her side.

She nodded grateful for something to do. Malarkey registered the ghostly appearance of her face just as Shifty had when he had first come up.

"Hey are you alright Rosie?"

"As alright as any of us Malark," she said stiffly.

Malarkey and Shifty followed her to the front of the compound where all the officers were gathered around Hattie and Liebgott. Adriana got there just as the two walked off shaking their heads.

"Major?" Adriana addressed Winters.

"Lt. are you alright?" he asked.

"Fine sir. You needed me?"

"Yes Lt. There is a woman's camp up the road."

This information earned a 'Jesus Christ' from Shifty and a 'shit' from Malarkey.

"The woman's camp sir?" Adriana asked, not believing the words that were coming out of her own mouth.

Winter's nodded.

"I need you to take some men and check it out. I believe the women will be less frightened of you."

"How many men sir?" she asked.

"Half," Winters said shortly. "Get them and move out. We need to get as much help to them as we can. Take one translator and two medics."

"Yes sir," she answered and turned to Malarkey and Shifty. "Find Talbert, Bull, Martin, Christenson and Lip. Tell them to get their boys ready to move and meet by the trucks in ten minutes. And if you see Doc Roe tell him he and Spina are with us as well."

"You got it Rosie," Malarkey said and jogged away.

Shifty nodded to her order and followed Malarkey. Not being left to her own thoughts was a good thing for Adriana. Her mind had a chance to focus on the order from Winters. As she searched for Luz, she found Perconte and Babe and told them to meet her by the trucks in ten. After that she ran across Liebgott, Hattie and Webster.

"Liebgott lets go. We need a translator with us at the women's camp. Web you stay. Winters needs one here too."

"Yes ma'am," he answered respectively.

Adriana nodded and turned back to find Luz. He never seemed to be around when she needed him the most. She looked back into the camp and was relieved to see him shadowing Bull. Malarkey and Shifty were leading an army of Paratroopers. Among them were, Martin, Talb, Bull, Christenson, Popeye, Genovitch, and Speirs. Luz jogged to her side first.

"You alright Bell?"

"Fine," she answered curtly. "Is everyone ready?" she asked.

The men around her nodded.

"Good lets go."

She turned on her heel and made her way toward the truck. Speirs jumped in the driver's side and Adriana let Bull slide in the passenger side. She clambered up into the back with the men. She assumed Speirs knew where he was going, so she leaned back and watched the prison begin to disappear into the trees. The tall fence had only been hidden behind the trees for ten minutes before another fence was visible in the other direction. The stench seemed to hit them harder than the one before as well.

Some of the men leaned over the side and wretched. Adriana sat as still as she could, praying she would be able to stand seeing women in the same shape as the men. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't feel Luz elbow her in the ribs. Finally he was forced to say her name, shattering the strained silence. The harsh sound of someone's voice shook everyone by surprise.

"Bell, we are here."

She looked up at him, her eyes breaking his heart. He felt a lump in his throat seeing all the unshed emotion in her eyes. He let the other men jump out of the truck before he put a hand on her cheek and brushed a strand of her caramel hair out of her eyes. He tucked it behind her ear and leaned his forehead against hers. He watched her eyes close and a tear fall onto his hand. He put both hands on her cheeks, his long fingers reaching the back of her neck. He felt her exhaled breath against his lips.

"Bell?"

"I can't cry here Luz. I can't. I have to be strong."

"You can't be strong forever," he said stroking a tear away with his thumb.

"I have to. It's my job," she said, a small sob escaping her.

"Please Adriana."

She opened her eyes to the use of her real name. She couldn't remember if he had ever used anything except Bell.

"You have to accept help from the guys. From me," Luz pleaded.

"Later Luz," she said lifting her head and looking away.

Luz almost pulled her back to him just because it was cold where her face was pressed against his but he let her go for now. There were people who needed their help. Adriana jumped off the truck and walked up to the gate. The scene was much the same as at the men's camp. The women looked terrified of all the men, but as Adriana approached, they got curious and began to come forward.

Adriana glanced at the men around her. Immediately to her left was Speirs, Bull, Malarkey, Talb, Liebgott, Hattie, Doc Roe and Shifty. To her right was Lip, Babe, Perconte, Spina, Hersey, Ramirez, McClung and Grant. For half a second she panicked because she didn't see Luz. This was stupid because she knew he was there, but she didn't see him. Suddenly she felt him behind her. Not because he touched her, but because she just knew. Later when she would think about it, she wouldn't be able to explain it.

Luz slid a hand down her arm and covered the back of hers. She extended her fingers so he could slip his fingers in between hers. She closed her hand over his fingers and squeezed. She felt his fingers moving on her palm and she smiled. She looked to her left and right again. All the men were looking at her, even Speirs. He realized she needed to take the lead on this one.

"Hattie," she said quietly.

She looked at Liebgott, who gave her an encouraging smile and a little push. She joined Adriana, squeezed Luz's hand once more and after an affirming squeeze in return, she let go and walked forward. She took the bolt cutters from Perconte and approached the gate with Hattie next to her.

The women were quiet as she came forward. There was a different atmosphere about the whole camp. Something Adriana couldn't explain right away. Both the men and the women were afraid and quiet and traumatized. All their eyes were exhausted, and their bodies scarred, but the women were different. Somehow they all looked hopeful. There was still some sort of fire behind their petrified expressions. Adriana couldn't remember seeing anything like that in the men. They were all broken and these women seemed to have some sort of resolve. Like this was just a test for them.

Their appearance was much the same as the men. They were just skeletons with a thin layer of skin stretched over. Their eyes were sunk in and their cheek bones sickeningly pronounced. Most were dressed in stripped dresses, but some were clothed in nothing more than dirty, tattered blankets. None of them seemed to care that most of their chests were showing in the presence of all these men. Adriana had a sick feeling most, if not all of them had been raped.

She reached the gate and put her hand through to show she meant them no harm. They all glanced at one another then back at her hand then up to her face. They seemed confused by her act of kindness. Adriana retracted her hand, feeling the familiar sting in her eyes. Hattie took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Adriana smiled at Hattie and looked over the worn women. The closest one had a toddler on her hip. Adriana almost lost her last meal at the appearance of the child. She was just as thin as anyone there and she couldn't have been more than two.

"Lieb," she croaked.

He stepped forward slowly. None of the women moved as Liebgott stepped up next to her.

"Tell them we won't hurt them," she said quietly, looking into the woman's eyes.

He told them and they all glanced at each other. Some even smiled.

"Tell them to back up," she said.

He did and Adriana was able to cut the lock and open the gate. The women backed away and waited for Adriana, Hattie and her men to enter. The Easy boys stayed a few yards behind Adriana and Hattie letting the women come to them at their own pace. The two women were instantly surrounded by prisoners, but they all kept a respectful distance. They seemed like they didn't want to offend them. The women gave the men an even wider birth until a small child approached Bull. The whole line of men stopped to watch.

She looked up at him, her bright eyes captivating. Suddenly she put her arms up, surprising Bull. He started to kneel down when a woman screamed and ran toward Bull. She snatched the little girl and backed away from Bull with terrified eyes. Adriana turned and carefully touched the young mother's shoulder. She spun around to look at her. When she realized Adriana was a woman she calmed a little, but kept a watchful eye on Bull.

Adriana turned and found Liebgott.

"Translate for me. These men won't hurt your daughter. You are safe with us."

Liebgott translated and the woman looked less worried. Adriana touched the little girl's shoulder. She smiled and said something to her mother. Adriana looked at Lieb.

"She said she can tell that we are here to help," he said quietly.

The mother looked at her child then at Bull who was still kneeling. Adriana motioned for him not to move as the mother finally set the girl on the ground. She happily walked over to him and touched his face.

"Thank you," she said in perfect English.

Bull smiled and opened his arms. Her smiled grew wider as she threw herself into his large embrace. He picked her up and held her against him. He shot Adriana a look. It was a look Adriana had never seen on Bull's face before. He looked like he might cry. He stroked the young girls thin hair and and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Alright boys, you know Winters' orders. Help them."

They spread out across the camp. After the episode with Bull and the little girl, all the children seemed to instantly be attracted to him. He was soon surrounded by all the kids in the camp, their mothers mulling restlessly around. Liebgott was easily talking to the women. They were calmer than the men and therefore were more talkative. When word got out that they had come from the men's camp though, all the women became excited. They were all asking if they had seen any of their husbands, brothers, sons ect. Liebgott had to deliver the difficult message that a lot of the men had been dead. The women hung their heads, but one of them beckoned them to follow.

Adriana turned to Bull and Speirs.

"Take your squads and check out the other part of the camp. Malark and Talb you and your squads are with me. Lip, take Luz and radio to Winters what the status is here."

"Yes ma'am," Lip said. "Let's go Luz."

The Radioman glanced at Adriana then followed Lip. Adriana hated him not being right next to her, holding her and comforting her, but she needed to think of the women first. She, Malarkey and Talb's squads followed the young woman, still holding the toddler. She gestured to a large trailer and reached to open it. Adriana didn't have time to ready herself for what was inside and therefore had to fall back into Liebgott's waiting arms.

The stench was overwhelming. So much so that Adriana turned and emptied her stomach. She was not alone. Hattie and three fourths of the men did the same. All the bodies were charred and filled within an inch of the top. The woman seemed unfazed and pointed to six more identical trailers and then beyond where there seemed to be mass graves.

Liebgott knelt next to the two women.

"You two want to go wait by the trucks?"

She shook her head, wiped her face and answered for both of them.

"No w… we're fine. Thanks Lieb," she said shakily.

He helped them stand and they went to the next trailer and the next and the next until finally they were at the mass graves. The Germans hadn't even bothered to put dirt on them. There were just layers and layers of human corpses. By now, Adriana was not even bothering to keep the tears at bay.

"How deep is it?" she squeaked.

Liebgott relayed the message to the woman. He didn't answer for a few moments after she answered.

"Twenty feet," he said quietly. "She knows because she helped dig them."

Adriana turned to him, open mouthed.

"Twenty feet? There are what? Ten holes? That has to be thousands of-" but she stopped, the full magnitude of this hitting her.

"Lip!" she shouted, anger taking over her emotions.

He was next to her in an instant.

"Don't tell Winters anymore until we have finished."

"Yes ma'am," he answered.

"Go find the other boys and tell them to meet me by the truck."

"Yes ma'am."

As Lip ran off to gather men, Adriana turned to the woman with her toddler. She reached out a hand.

"I'm so sorry for what the Germans did to you."

The woman did nothing but looked down at her outstretched hand. It took Adriana a minute, but she eventually realized that the women here had been living like animals in a cage for so long that a simple thing like a handshake was long lost on them. Once again, struggling to keep her emotions in check, Adrianna blinked furiously and slowly lowered her hand before clearing her throat.

"Do you have any other family here?" she asked.

The woman looked at Liebgott for a translation. When he had she nodded and turned, Adriana and the men following. The woman took them back across the camp to the last hut in the last row. She entered nodding for Adriana to follow. She grabbed Talb and Hattie, who grabbed Liebgott mostly for moral support and went in. The huts were the same as the men's. Cramped, filthy and smelly. There were dead and sick women lying with live ones, although it was hard to tell which were which. The woman crossed the room and knelt with a group of women. She talked in hurried undertones with them until they all stood up and went out back.

They knelt by a patch of dead grass and to the three American's surprise, they pulled it up. The first woman nodded for Adriana to go inside. She glanced at Lieb and Talb who nodded.

"I'll be right behind you," Liebgott said.

With that confirmation, Adriana dropped into the hole. The only light in the room was coming from the door. As promised, Liebgott dropped in behind her and the woman behind him. She squeezed around him and went into a dark corner whispering something. Seconds later twelve young boys emerged from the shadows. Adriana could hardly believe it.

"Ask her where they are doing here," she whispered to Liebgott.

"She said some of the women got raped and pregnant. If the soldiers found out the baby was a boy, they killed it. This is an only women's camp, so they kept the boys here. There were hundreds, but only twelve survived," Liebgott relayed her message.

"Shit," Adriana cursed quietly.

"Tell her everyone is going to be ok now. The boys can come out."

Liebgott did then turned and helped her out of the hole. Talb took her hand and pulled her into the sunlight. The woman came next, then the boys and finally Liebgott. Talb was shocked to see the young boys. Two of them looked like they were about two and the oldest ones looked about five.

"Well shit," Talb cursed running a hand through his hair.

The boys immediately ran to their mothers. One of the older ones held onto the young woman's hand tightly.

"Your son?" Adriana asked her.

The woman nodded.

"He's four," Liebgott said.

Adriana shook her head, but swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Lt!" it was Lipton.

"What?" she responded, shaken by the sudden voice.

"Winters needs to talk to you!"

She glanced at the woman and squeezed her shoulder then followed Lipton back to the front where Luz was. He held out the radio to her. She took it.

"Winters sir?"

"Roosevelt, there is a doctor here that says we need to put these people back in the camp to keep them centralized while we heal them and get them food."

"What do you want me to do sir?" she asked not believing what she was hearing.

"Make sure they are all back in the camp. We will have the doctors over there as soon as we can."

Adriana paused and looked back at the camp full of joyful women then met Luz's eyes. He could hear the whole conversation and he looked as confused as she felt. Adriana gulped and finally got her voice back to answer Winters.

"Sir I can't put them back in there."

"You have to Lt. It's for their own good. Get it done Roosevelt."

"Yes sir," she gulped.

She hung up and shook her head at Luz then jogged inside looking for her men.

"Speirs! Malark! Lip!"

The three men appeared.

"Get all the men outside. We have to lock them back up."

They glanced at each other.

"Why the hell would we do that?" Malarkey asked.

"You can ask Winters when you see him," Adriana answered. "Do as I say."

The red head sighed and went with Lipton and Speirs to get the men. It took ten minutes to gather the men, but once they were, Adriana grabbed Liebgott.

"You have to tell them to go back inside," she said.

"I can't tell them that," Liebgott said looking hard at her.

"I know how you feel, but its Winiters' orders. You have to," Adriana answered sadly.

Liebgott gave her one last look and climbed up on the truck. He didn't speak for a minute, but a small, pale hand slipped into his. He glanced to his left and met Hattie's eyes. Her eyes roamed his face, and a sad, reassuring smile touched her lips. She covered his hand with her free one and gave a small squeeze. Without breaking eye contact, he told the women what he was supposed to then collapsed into tears as the women shouted at him and asked why. Hattie sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He turned into her and buried his face in her shoulder. The gesture surprised her, but she put her arms around his back and gently smoothed his hair.

Adriana tried to keep them calm as the men pushed them back inside and locked the gates. Women were screaming and crying and reaching through the bars and that was all Adriana could remember for the rest of the day. Those poor, terrified women crying out for her help and she was just leaving them.

* * *

That night, all Luz wanted to do was pull Adriana into his arms and fall asleep. He stood and was about to go find Adriana, when a soft rapping at the door made him look up.

"Come in," he called.

The door creaked open wide enough for Adriana to poke her head in. He smiled as she stepped in and closed the door. He waited for her to speak first, but she didn't. Instead, she turned to the washbowl full of clean water. He watched her plunge her hands into the water. He noticed the dirt, blood and grime caked on them and realized she hadn't washed up since earlier that day at the camps. He waited for her to finished, but after a few minutes she hadn't stopped so he walked over. As soon as he saw the water he realized something was wrong.

The water had turned a dark scarlet. Luz reached into the water and pulled her hands out. He covered them with a towel, dried them and looked down. They were dripping blood from small scratches.

"Bell," he scolded.

She said nothing.

"Talk to me," he pleaded.

He lifted her face with a finger under her chin and she let out a shaky sigh.

"My father. He is dead."

Luz gasped.

"Oh Bell. I'm so sorry. How?"

"Doesn't matter," she answered. "We… we were too late for so many of them."

It took Luz a moment to realize they had changed subjects.

"Yeah we were," Luz agreed.

"There were so many…" she trailed off looking over Luz's shoulder out the window.

"Bell?" Luz asked.

She met his eyes.

"They are safe now."

"All I could think about the whole time was what if I was born in another place? What if I had switched places with one of those women? I wouldn't be here."

Tears were streaming from her eyes. Luz captured her hands and held them.

"Bell, you're here. You're with me. You're safe."

She didn't respond so he dropped her hands and took her face between his.

"Do you feel this?" he asked stroking her cheeks.

He dropped a hand and took hers. He put it on his chest over his heart.

"Do you feel that?" he asked meeting her eyes.

She gulped and nodded.

"That is beating for you," he said.

He watched her jaw clench and she inclined her head. She hovered her lips close to his. He felt her breath catch when he moved his hand to the back of her neck. Oh how he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to taste those lips, and feel them moving against his. In response to his. He breathed in as she breathed out making impossible for him not to inhale her sweet sent. It still made him weak. He would be able to catch her smell from miles away. For so long she had smelled of dirt and blood and cigarettes with a hint of something sweet. It was a smell he had grown to love. As he tried to keep his heart rate slow, Adriana was having the same problem.

"I can't breathe," she finally said.

He looked worried until she smiled and met his gaze.

"But I think it's a good thing," she whispered.

He moved a strand of hair from her face.

"I want to kiss you," she said suddenly.

Luz was so happy he could have done jumping jacks around the room, but he didn't. Instead he asked, "What's stopping you?"

She sighed and touched her 1st Lt. bar on her collar.

"Who's gonna know?" he asked glancing at the empty room.

She looked like she might pull away, but he had never been this close with her, and he wasn't going to let it pass him easily. He grabbed her arm and yanked her back to him. She landed flush against his chest. She was breathing rapidly as he searched her eyes. Without warning, he inclined his head. Her eyes stayed on his, but she didn't move away, so he captured her lips.

They were cold and chapped and tasted like salt from all the recent tears, but it was more than he ever hoped it would be. He felt her hand still pressed against his chest, but now it was wadding up his shirt. Suddenly she seemed to get herself together and pushed away. Once there was a little space between them, she looked up. He smiled, pleased to see her puffy lips.

"Luz-"

"Adriana stop."

He was surprised that she actually did.

"I'm going to fight for your love. There are some things in life that are worth fighting for to the end. You are one of those things. You cannot make me stop feeling the way I do about you."

"I don't want you to stop," she confessed. "I just don't want to get in trouble."

He smiled and touched her face softly.

"If you're too scared to have se-"

"It's not that," was her quick response.

She eyed Luz's cheeky grin.

"Just not now," she said with a smile.

She kissed his cheek and left the room. At the door she glanced over her shoulder.

"And Luz?"

He looked up.

"I love you."

* * *

_**YAY!  
thanks for reading guys!  
Oh also if you want to see what Adriana and Hattie look like, let me know and I'll message the pics to you! Love you all!**_

_**REVIEW!**_


	37. Brothers After All

_**Hi guys! Next chapter is UP! I'm actually really sad that I'm on the last few chapters. It seems like this has gone by so fast, when in reality I know it's been around 9 months… wow ridiculous. Anyway, I'm really glad to have taken this ride with all my readers, and I love you all so much. I need to thank **__Shockin'BlueEyes, the everchanging, LouiseJames, Endipseles, Dreamcloud123, Aella Leto, hodhod2011danger, liebluz lover, Molly __**and my darling that I have been missing so much, **__Heartbeats77._**  
I hope you know how much I love you all! Enjoy this close – to – the – end – chapter.  
**_**I own nothing but Adriana and now Hattie**_

* * *

Adriana woke the next morning with Hattie sleeping next to her.

"How did this happen?" she asked herself smiling down at Hattie.

Adriana remembered coming back into her room and it was dark. She didn't know if Hattie was here when she came back or she came in after she was asleep. Adriana stretched and laid her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. A smile crossed her face as she thought of the night before. Luz had kissed her. The smile grew. He had kissed her. She sighed.

"What are you so smiley about?" Hattie asked.

Adriana opened her eyes and looked at Hattie.

"What happened?" Hattie asked sitting up excitedly and shaking Adriana.

Adriana grinned and put her hands behind her head.

"Adriana!" she yelled happily. "Tell me!"

"Luz kissed me," Adriana said, her eyes still closed.

Hattie squealed and shook Adriana some more.

"Jesus Hattie relax," Adriana said struggling not to fall off the bed.

"Oh Adri I'm so happy for you!"

"Hey what about you?" Adriana asked. "Did you tell Lieb about you leaving?"

Hattie sighed and her smile left her face.

"You really know how to ruin a moment don't yah?"

Adriana smiled sadly and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"As long as you plan on leaving today, you need to tell him."

"I don't plan on doing shit," Hattie hissed. "My damn OC is making me."

Adriana furrowed her brow thinking.

"Well I guess you're right. I'll go tell him then," Hattie said getting out of the bed.

"You want me to come with you?" Adriana asked.

Hattie shook her head.

"No, I can do it," she said.

She grabbed her rifle and helmet and left the room. Adriana sighed and lay back down to think. There was no way Hattie could leave. Not now especially. Liebgott had just gone through something more difficult than anyone in the paratroopers. She couldn't leave. Suddenly, she had an idea. She jumped off the bed almost forgetting her rifle in her excitement. She had to find Hattie.

* * *

Hattie sighed as she walked around looking for the bilingual Jew. With the day that he'd had before, Hattie figured he would be in his room so she headed for the building she knew he was billeted in. She crossed paths with Malarkey as she entered the building.

"Hey Hattie," he greeted her as he walked by in a towel.

"You enjoying the shower Malark?" she asked grinning.

"And a nice razor," Malarkey said returning the smile and rubbing his newly shaved chin.

"Hey you know which room Joe is in?" she asked.

"Yeah him and Babe are at the end of the hall on the left," Malarkey answered.

"Thanks," she said.

Malarkey nodded and she made her way to the end of the hall. She raised her hand to knock, but Babe opened the door before she had a chance.

"Oh hey Hat," Babe greeted her then turned around. "Hey Lieb your girl is here!"

Liebgott appeared behind Babe. He too was in a towel.

"I told you not to call me that Babe," she said shoving him lightly. "Am I interrupting your shower time?" she asked not able to stop a smile from crossing her face.

"You wouldn't be interrupting anything," Babe said dodging a fist from Liebgott and passing Hattie.

He jogged down the hall hooting and cat calling as he went.

"Sorry about that jackass," Liebgott said. "You coming in?"

Hattie thought about saying no, but she figured it was a better idea to tell him inside.

"Why don't you put some clothes on?" she asked going under his arm and into the room.

As she passed him she caught a sent she had never smelled before on him. The smell of earth and blood and sweat was and would be forever present on him, but it was something else.

"You smell…" she paused. "Clean."

Liebgott scoffed.

"Yeah well you better get used to it," Liebgott said throwing an arm over her shoulder. "I can feel that this damn war is almost over and I'll be smelling clean all the time."

Hattie turned and looked at Liebgott.

"Joe I have to tell you something."

His brows came together.

"Alright," he said. "Shoot."

"My CO from Charlie Company is coming today. To personally take me back to my Company."

Liebgott took a step back out of Hattie's reach.

"You're leavin'?" he asked in disbelief.

"It's not my choice," she said quickly. "I want to stay."

"Why do you want to stay?" Liebgott asked meeting her eyes.

She hesitated.

"You Joe."

Liebgott's face didn't change.

"Joe?" she said questioningly.

All she wanted was for him to say something.

"I don't have a choice," she tried again.

"I…" he paused. "I… well… I really like… I like… well I think I…"

"Joe," she said closing the space between them.

She looked up into his face. He sighed.

"I love you."

Hattie blinked and raised her eyebrows.

"I know it's weird," Liebgott said beginning to ramble. "I have only known you for a little while, but I have never felt like this before. I'm not good at this kind of stuff but I can't let you leave without telling you. I don't want you to leave! There must be some way we can get your CO to let you stay. I just want to –"

But he was stopped mid sentence by Hattie's lips crashing into his. The force knocked him back into the bed. He barely was able to keep them standing. He wrapped his arms around her lower back and lifted her. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around his hips, locking her feet behind him. She braced her forearms on his shoulders and held herself up above his face. She broke the kiss long enough to toss her chest length, almost orange hair back and then met his lips again. Liebgott let her hold herself up and put both hands on her cheeks. He pushed her hair back and held a handful of it, pulling her closer with the other hand on her back. Suddenly there was a banging on the door.

Hattie broke the kiss and opened her eyes. Liebgott was looking at her. A cheeky grin crossed his face and he pulled her face back to his.

"Hattie, Liebgott I know you're in there!"

It was Adriana.

"If you want to stay here I suggest you come out! I have a plan!"

Hattie unwrapped her legs and jumped to the ground. She jogged to the door and flung it open. Adriana was standing, looking very excited. Her expression changed when she saw Hattie.

"You been having fun in there?" Adriana asked pointing to Hattie's messy hair.

She straightened it out and attempted to keep Liebgott behind the door.

"Hey what's the meaning of this?" Liebgott asked good naturedly as he pulled on a pair of pants under the towel.

Adriana made a disgusted face then turned to Hattie.

"You don't have any family that will miss you if you died in the war right?"

"Well no I guess not. Thank you for reminding me," Hattie said glumly.

"That is what I wanted to hear. Come on!" Adriana yelled happily grabbing Hattie's hand and running down the hall.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Liebgott yelled after them.

He grabbed a shirt, shut the door and ran after them.

"Adriana what's going on?" Hattie yelled.

"You will see!" she said happily. "Hurry up! Your CO will be here soon!"

"All the more reason to let her hang out with me!" Liebgott pressed from behind them.

"She will have plenty of time for that if my plan works!" Adriana yelled happily.

She drug Adriana down to the middle of the street where Doc Roe was waiting with half a dozen Toccoa men. Adriana slid to a stop in front of Luz who was holding an armful of tomatoes.

"How long can you hold your breath?" Adriana asked Hattie.

"What?" she asked.

"Your breath! How long can you hold it!"

"Like thirty seconds?" Hattie said confused.

"That's not very long," Adriana thought out loud.

"What if he didn't see her up close," Luz suggested. "We keep back away from her so he can only see the blood but not her breathing."

"Excuse me, Blood?" Hattie asked raising a hand.

Luz smiled and held up the tomatoes. Suddenly a shot rang out and Hattie and Liebgott dropped to the ground, but the rest of them smiled.

"Hattie, get over here!" Adriana said pulling Hattie to the middle of the men.

"But the shot –"

"That was Shifty telling us your CO is coming, now get over here!" Adriana said annoyed.

Hattie lay on the ground where Roe told her to and he began squeezing tomato juice onto the front of her uniform over her heart. Roe opened her jacket and got 'blood' on her green button down and finally her white crew neck. He then took the remaining tomatoes and squished them against his chest, arms and pants.

"Incoming," whispered Malarkey.

"Close your eyes and try not to breath and get those damn things out of here," Adriana said nodding to the tomatoes.

Luz took them and tossed them behind a wall then ran up to the CO of Charlie Company as he got out of a jeep. Winters and Speirs were meeting him.

"Luz," Speirs said as he and Perconte jogged up. "What was that shot?"

"Sir it hit Hattie," Luz panted trying to wipe the spatters of 'blood' off his shirt.

The CO started and blinked.

"McDurman? Is she alive?"

Luz and Perconte looked at one another then back at the CO and shook their heads. They glanced back over at the group of men who parted on cue to reveal Hattie lying motionless in the street with Doc Roe sitting back on his heels by her head.

"Shit," the CO cursed and turned back for his jeep.

"You're not going to take her body?" Winters asked confused.

"For what?" the CO asked. "I know for a fact she has no family. Who would we send it to?"

Winters and Speirs looked at each other, but before they could say anything, the CO was in the jeep driving away. Luz and Perconte raised their eyebrows at each other and jogged back to the group of men around Hattie.

"He's gone," Luz reported.

"Just like that?" Hattie asked sitting up making Speirs and Winters do a double take from across the street.

"Yeah he really didn't seem to like you," Perconte said. "When he saw you 'dead' he ran for the hills. Damn spineless bastard."

"I really couldn't care less," Hattie said standing. "As long as I get to stay here."

Her eyes ran over the group of men landing on Liebgott last.

"Hey hey, he is great, but what about me?" Adriana asked.

Hattie smiled.

"Who else could have convinced me to swim across an almost frozen river in the middle of winter, in the middle of the night?"

"No one," Adriana grinned.

She patted Hattie's shoulder.

"Hey did you guys hear?" Webster asked running up to them.

"Hear what Web?" Luz asked.

"Division has been finding camps all over the place. The Russian's liberated one a lot worse. It was ten times as big with execution chambers, and ovens for all the bodies."

"Holy shit," was the general reaction.

"The locals here claim they didn't know the camp existed," Adriana said repeating what Nixon had told her the day before.

"Bull shit," Hattie growled.

"They say we are exaggerating," Adriana went on. "General Taylor declared martial law. Ordered every able bodied German 14 to 80 to start burying the bodies. They start in the morning. Tenth armored are going to supervise clean up. But we are heading out to Thalem. Tomorrow. 1200 hours."

"Woohoo another no name German town, sure to be as interesting as the last," Web complained.

"It's got a name Web," Adriana said glaring at him.

She was tired of Web's complaining. She was glad Hattie was staying with them and her plan had worked, but Web was driving her crazy. She grabbed Luz's hand and walked a little way away from the group.

"What's going on?" Luz asked a little concerned.

Adriana thought for a moment.

"I want to go back to the camp."

"What the hell for?" Luz asked now more concerned.

"I want to help clean up the camps."

Luz stared open mouthed at her for a moment then touched her forehead.

"You sick or something?"

Adriana batted his hand away.

"Seriously why the hell would you want to go back there?" he asked placing the hand on her cheek.

Adriana said nothing.

"I saw the way it affected you the first time."

"I will be ready for it now," Adriana said sounding more like she was trying to reassure herself.

"You sure?" Luz asked.

She nodded and Luz shrugged.

"Alright," he took her hand. "Let's go."

She nodded again and took a breath before moving toward the line of Germans being taken to the camp. Adriana and Luz jumped on the back of one of the trucks, acting like one of the 10th armored who were shepherding the citizens out.

"We going to the men or women's camp?" Luz asked her.

She shrugged as the smell of the camp began to hit her again.

* * *

Adriana realized as soon as the camp came into view that it was a bad idea to go back. There were no more people walking around, but that just put more emphasis on how many were dead. Adriana and Luz had walked around the camp just watching for half an hour until Luz pulled her outside and they began to walk back to town through the woods.

For now Adriana and her boys and thankfully Hattie were in Thalem. The German citizens were only just returning from being driven out by their own soldiers. The Krauts plundered everything they wanted from the town, then destroyed it. Most of the buildings were completely gone, reduced to a pile of bricks with table legs sticking out the top. Almost no building was untouched by the bombs. Almost all of them had at least a few holes. A few Germans had begun playing string instruments, emitting a sad and rather annoying song that set a depressed mood over the Germans who were working in the rubble that used to be their homes. A man led a horse drawn cart through the rubble laden with broken tables, chairs and even a bed frame. It had to stop for two men crossed the road, carrying what looked like a very heavy rolled up carpet.

Adriana was sitting on the edge of a bombed out room with a few Toccoa men and Hattie. She leaned back unexpectedly into Luz's chest. He was surprised, but he caught himself and smiled. He took a drag off his cigarette and put it in front of Adriana's face. She smiled and put her lips against his fingers over the end of the cigarettes and breathed in. Hattie smiled from across the blown out room.

"They're cute ain't they?" Liebgott asked in her ear making her shiver.

"Yeah, but I know someone cuter," she said turning and meeting his eyes.

"Oh yeah? Who's that?" Liebgott asked grinning.

"Well Speirs is pretty cute," Hattie said with a grin.

Liebgott raised an eyebrow trying to decide if she was serious. She smiled wider and touched his cheek.

"I'm kidding Joe," she said placing a quick kiss on his opposite cheek and turning to look back out at the German citizens.

Liebgott settled his arms around Hattie's waist and pulled her back to rest against his chest. She complied easily and leaned her head back against his shoulder so her forehead was against his cheek. Luz poked Adriana in the ribs turning her to look at them. Luz whistled getting their attention, but all Liebgott did was smirk and hug Hattie tighter.

"I tell you one thing about the Krauts," Luz began snaking an arm around Adriana's middle. "They sure clean up good."

"All you need is a little Mozart," Liebgott said taking a drag around Hattie.

"Beethoven," Nixon said coming out of the hallway.

"Sorry sir?" Liebgott asked.

"That's not Mozart. That's Beethoven."

Adriana didn't much care whose song it was. She was tired of hearing it, but she was so comfortable leaning against Luz, she just didn't move. She took another drag off Luz's cigarette and closed her eyes only to snap them open at Nixon's next words.

"Hitler is dead."

Seven pairs of eyes landed on Nixon at the same time.

"You serious?" Adriana asked suddenly very awake.

"He shot himself in Berlin," Nixon said sounding bored.

"Holy shit," Liebgott exclaimed.

"Is the war over sir?" Bull asked.

"No," Nixon answered. "We have orders to go to Berchesguarden. We move out in an hour."

"Why?" Web asked. "The man's not home."

Sighing heavily Adriana got up from her ridiculously comfortable spot in front of Luz and stretched. She took her helmet from beside him and helped him up.

"Should have killed himself three years ago. Saved us a lot of trouble," she grumbled as they went from the open air room and into the musty hall.

* * *

Easy company entered Bavaria in early May ready to capture Burchesguarden. There was only one small problem. The Germans had exploded the mountain and there was a pile of boulders three stories high on the road. Everybody who was anybody in the 3rd Reich had a house in Burchesguarden.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Liebgott asked from the wheel well of the truck he was leaning on.

"Have some patience," Hattie said continuing to pace in front of him.

"Your one to talk," Adriana said with a smile. "You have been pacing so long; I think you have started making a trench."

Hattie stuck her tongue out at Adriana but sat down leaning her back against Liebgott's shoulder.

"Hitler ordered the SS to make it their last stand and hold off the Allies with a gorilla resistance," Adriana explained. "First thing they did was block the roads."

"So we have to sit around and do nothing?" Luz asked jumping down from the back of the truck.

The four of them jumped as there was an explosion behind them.

"The rock pile is a mile long you blockheads!" Luz shouted. "You aint gonna do nothin' with your puny little rocket launcher!"

Adriana suddenly smiled.

"But maybe with some extra power," she said quietly. "Come here boys!"

Liebgott, Web, Luz and Hattie followed her to the boulders piled on the road.

"Give me your grenades," Adriana said.

The four handed them over and Adriana piled them on one of the rocks. She put the last one on the top of the pile then jogged back behind McClung who was holding the rocket launcher. He counted to three and fired. The explosion was significantly bigger, but it still did little against the ridiculous amount of rocks.

"Boys load up!" Speirs yelled. "Were moving out!"

"See that boys," Hattie said climbing into the back of the truck, Liebgott close behind. "No need to waste valuable granades."

"Yeah yea, get in there girl," Liebgott said pushing her.

"Easy there Joe, you wouldn't want to harm the princess," Babe said smiling and pulling Hattie into the back of the truck.

"Now listen here," Hattie said turning and pointing a long finger at Babe's nose. "Just because I don't want to get clean by splashing around in a puddle in the middle of Germany doesn't mean I am a princess, because I am _far _from that."

She was now inches from his nose. He grinned at their closeness.

"Jackass," Hattie growled pulling away from him, sitting next to Liebgott and crossing her arms.

Adriana laughed and got onto the truck as it started moving backward down the hill. After an hour of backtracking and looking for another way around, Easy company finally made it into Berchesguarden. The town was eerie as the men came through. Adriana and Luz were walking close to the front with Lip, Talb and Malarkey, leading the company as Winters, Speirs, Nix and Welsh rode in the only vehicle that would fit in the small streets. The little Jeep could hardly fit on the street with the men.

Every window was shuttered and from all the balconies hung white flags. They were fluttering in the gentle breeze making a small flapping noise. Adriana jumped at every noise, every squeak of the old buildings. Everyone seemed on edge, as they should be. The farther into town they went, the wider the streets got. Finally it opened up to a large building with the familiar Nazi spider on it.

"Ugly fucking thing," Liebgott commented pointing at it.

"Who the hell would make a four legged spider on a red background their mascot for a war?" Malarkey asked.

"I tell yah one thing," Babe said. "I wouldn't follow a guy who made you say 'hail Hitler' whenever someone important walked by."

Luz, Liebgott and Malarkey grinned, but Adriana sighed.

"Some people didn't want to Babe, but they didn't have a choice."

"Like hell they didn't," Babe scoffed.

"Hitler ordered every able bodied German man into his army," Adriana explained. "If they refused, he killed their family, or, if they pissed him off enough, he just killed them. I would have liked to see you refuse."

"I'm sure some people did," Babe said solemnly.

Adriana nodded slowly.

"You're probably right Babe. Some might have, and I bet we would be good friends with them."

Babe watched her for a moment.

"Come on boys. Let's check out the hotel," Adriana said following her four ranking officers in.

"Another ugly fucking thing," Babe said to Liebgott pointing at a bust of Hitler.

Liebgott snickered.

"Who would decide to have facial hair like that?" Adriana asked.

"Who would decide to have facial hair period?" Hattie asked with a grin at Liebgott, whose face was as hairless as the day he was born.

He grinned and rubbed his cheek against hers making her laugh.

"Oh come on Hattie," Adriana said grabbing Luz's chin. "Some scruff is nice."

Luz smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Aww Jesus, get a room will yah?" Perconte said pushing past them.

"We could yah know," Liebgott said wrapping his arms around Hattie's waist and kissing her cheek.

"Not now guys, "Adriana said. "We have to clear the town before you two do anything."

"Fine," Liebgott said. "Hattie and I will clear one of the rooms."

Liebgott smiled mischievously, swaying on the spot, Hattie still in his arms.

"Aww damn get out of here," Adriana said waving a hand at them.

"Why do they get to go have fun?" Babe complained as Hattie and Liebgott practically skipped up the stairs.

"Who the hell are you going to go have fun with?" Adriana asked.

Babe looked around.

"Exactly," she growled. "Keep working."

Babe huffed and went to check out a room down the hall. Adriana stopped the desk clerk from taking the room register and running with a pistol to his face.

"Don't do it," she hissed. "Put it down."

He did, then scurried away. Adriana began to go through the book, but none of it made sense to her because she couldn't speak German.

"Why can't we blow off work and have fun?" Luz asked surprising her.

He slid a hand up Adriana's side and came to rest on the back of her neck. She didn't appreciate the shiver he caused down her spine.

"Because I'm an officer," she said sternly putting her hand on his chest and pushing.

He didn't move, just stood with his hands on his hips and grinned. Adriana knew her relationship with Luz was much more subdued than Liebgott and Hattie's relationship, but it had to be. She was an officer, but she couldn't seem to make Luz understand. He came forward and Adriana backed against the desk. Luz trapped her with both hands on either side of her.

"Looks like you're trapped between a desk and a hard place," Luz said pressing himself against her with a sly grin.

Adriana sucked in a surprised breath as Luz ran a hand up her back and into her hair.

"Luz," she said her voice void of any authority.

"Yes?" he asked his lips hovering above hers.

He leaned forward, but she pulled away. By now, she was almost laying flat on the desk, Luz above her. Adriana could hear the other officers in the next room, taking anything that wasn't nailed down and the other boys were checking out the rooms. She wanted Luz so much more than she ever had, but she had managed to make it through all three years without even kissing him, and now, in the span of a few weeks she had gotten so much closer to him than she ever thought she would. She had even kissed him. Well more correctly, he had kissed her.

"Luz…"

"Mmhmm," he acknowledged as he placed a line of kisses from her collar bone up her neck and behind her ear.

"Not now."

"Why not?" Luz asked between kisses.

For the life of her, Adriana could not think of a reason why not. Especially with Luz's lips against her ear and his hands raking her scalp and back. His hands were cold as one of them got under her clothing and went up her stomach. She gasped at his touch and he pulled away and looked at her. His brown eyes were shining with lust. She put a hand on his cheek stroking her thumb over his jaw lightly. He sighed and leaned away from her.

"I will have you Adriana Roosevelt," he said looking slightly disappointed, but he smiled.

"Roosevelt!" Speirs yelled walking back into the room.

"Sir," she said jumping.

"Roosevelt, get Liebgott, McDurman, Malarkey, Moor, Popeye and Grant. Luz you're with us too."

Speirs smiled.

"We are taking the Eagles Nest."

Adriana smiled at Luz then darted up the stairs yelling it as loud as she could that they were taking Hitler's house. The last thing she wanted was to walk in on Hattie and Liebgott so she preferred running through the halls shouting for them. In the end it worked. They appeared, Liebgott missing all his clothes but his boxers, and Hattie in a blanket.

"The Eagles Nest?" she yelled happily.

"Dear god," Adriana said turning and seeing them in the doorway. "Put some clothes on. We are leaving in five."

The two disappeared back inside the room and Adriana jogged through the rest of the building looking for Malarkey, Moor, Grant and Popeye. They were soon assembled and Speirs had them running up the mountain. They would have run up the mountain regardless, but Speirs kept yelling at them to go faster. They were whooping and hollering as they charged up the mountain. At one point they were looking over the road they came up and more Easy Company were coming up.

"HIGH HO SILVER!" Grant shouted down to the other Toccoa men coming up the road in trucks.

Adriana, Luz, Liebgott, Moor, Malarkey and Popeye joined in and even Hattie shouted it. She didn't know what it meant, but she didn't care. She was enjoying the run and the joy of Hitler's death.

The boys on the road responded with "Currahee!"

Adriana, Speirs and their squad made it to the Eagles nest without incident and found a big, empty building. There was a dead German officer behind the couch. He had a Luger in his hand which Speirs immediately took. Malarkey found a bottle of wine, which he didn't pause before opening. Moor found Hitler's personal photo album and took it before Speirs could. Liebgott and Hattie finally found a room they could be alone in, and Luz and Adriana found a balcony that looked over the snow covered alps.

Luz dropped onto a lounge facing the sunset over the mountains. He patted the spot in front of him and Adriana sighed heavily and sat down dramatically throwing herself against Luz. He laughed and began rubbing the back of her neck and shoulders. She purred at his touch and arched her back like a kitten.

"Tease," Luz commented under his breath.

Adriana leaned back into his chest and breathed deeply.

"Why did you come back?" she asked.

Luz frowned.

"What do you mean?" Luz asked, pulling a strand of hair over her shoulder.

"After you got hurt. You came back." She paused. "We all thought you were dead. You could have stayed away and gone home. You came back."

Luz sighed and continued massaging her shoulders.

"I wasn't going to come back," he confessed. "They transferred me to the hospital right outside Foy and I met someone who kicked a little sense into me."

Luz smiled at the memory. Adriana turned around and looked in his eyes.

"Who did you meet?"

"Guarnere."

Adriana's mouth dropped in surprise.

"What did he say?"

Luz leaned back pulling Adriana with him and breathed a sigh of contentment.

"He told me, and I quote, 'George you're a damn fool.'"

Adriana laughed which earned a frown from Luz.

"I'm not done yet," he said irritably.

"I'm sorry darling, continue," she mocked.

"He said – ,"

"_George, you're a damn fool. That girl loves you."_

"_No she doesn't," Luz sighed heavily. "She loves – "_

"_I swear to god if you say Shifty I'm going to hit you upside the head with my crutch," Guarnere growled._

_ Luz was quiet while Guarnere looked at him with annoyance._

"_She was just here tellin' me how much she loves you. She thinks you're dead you know."_

_ Luz nodded._

"_I know."_

"_You were just gonna leave weren't yah?" Guarnere asked._

_ Luz nodded and Guarnere sighed. He sat up and scooted down to the end of the bed where Luz was sitting, his face in his hands. Guarnere put a hand on his shoulder._

"_Now I'm about to give you a bit of wisdom so listen here."_

_ Luz looked up._

"_Adriana loved before and she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters?"_

_Luz blinked a few times and looked away._

"_Look at me damn it," Guarnere said loudly. "I ain't finished."_

_Luz looked back at him._

" _She's not perfect but you ain't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, make you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, although right now, I guarantee you, she is, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break – her heart. So damn it, dont hurt her, don't change her, and don't expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she's not there."_

"And do what comes naturally. Love her," Luz finished and looked down at Adriana.

"Bill told you all that?" Adriana asked surprised.

Luz nodded placing a gentle kiss on her lips. Adriana barely had time to close her eyes before he pulled away and looked down at her. Adriana had never seen that look on his face before. She couldn't even describe it to herself, and it made her weak and speechless.

"So you stayed because of that?"

"I won't ever forget what Bill told me. Besides, if I went home, it wouldn't really be home would it?"

Adriana frowned.

"Why?"

"Home isn't where you were born or where you grew up," Luz explained. "_My _home is wherever you are. Even if that happens to be in the middle of a war. I came back determined to take you back from Shifty."

Adriana couldn't believe what she was hearing from Luz. He was funny and adorable, but she had never known him to be overly romantic.

"You never had to take me back," Adriana said touching his face.

"Roosevelt!" Speirs yelled up the stairs.

Luz started to get up quickly, but Adriana didn't move. In fact, she held him where he was.

"What are you doing?" Luz asked as Speirs yelled her name again his voice getting closer.

"I don't care Luz," Adriana said capturing his lips as Speirs came up the stairs.

"Roosevelt."

Adriana pulled away from Luz and looked up at him. He looked like he could be smiling, but you never knew with Spears.

"We need the officers together," Speirs said.

"Yes sir," Adriana said pushing off of Luz's chest and standing.

He waited for her then jogged down the stairs. Adriana stole one more kiss from Luz then followed Speirs. Luz blinked a few times then leaned back, his hands behind his head.

"And you whistle at me and Hattie," Liebgott said sauntering around a corner, hands stuffed deep into his pockets.

He was followed by Talbert and Babe. Luz rolled his eyes.

"And where is your girl?" Luz asked him.

"Off helping Vest with inventory," Liebgott said with a smirk.

"Good he needs it," Luz said closing his eyes.

"I'm surprised Speirs didn't kick your ass," Babe said sitting across from Luz.

"I'm surprised Adriana didn't jump up when she heard him coming," Talb said.

"So did Bill really say that stuff to you?" Liebgott asked.

Luz opened his eyes and nodded. The other three exchanged glances and smiled.

"What the hell are you three smiling about?" Luz asked raising an eyebrow.

"We were deciding who was going to knock some sense into you when you came back," Talb said grinning. "Looks like someone beat us to the punch."

"You're damn right," Luz said closing his eyes again.

* * *

The officers really hadn't been meeting for anything other than to drink and celebrate Hitler's death. Adriana had followed Speirs to the other side of the Eagles Nest where Nix and Welsh were already drinking. Speirs tossed her a bottle of wine. She looked at it for a moment, then smiled, popped it open and threw herself on a lounge. An hour, and seventeen bottles of wine later, Nixon was trying to explain something about Hitler.

"No god damn it listen, Hitler, Hitler, no, no. Hitler, Hitler, girls, girls, DOGS! Umm…"

"Oh give it a rest will yah?" Adriana said taking another swig.

"Hey Adolf!" Welsh shouted as Winters walked up. "LOVE your Eagles nest! I hope you don't mind. We made ourselves at home."

He gestured to the empty bottles strewn around them.

"Hey have a drink," Harry said. "Just so we can say we saw you do it."

"Listen up," Winters said ignoring the bottle pointed at his chest. "This just came in, effective immediately. 'All troops stand fast on present positions.'"

Harry, somewhat tipsily, stood at attention in front of Winters, who looked up and couldn't stop a grin.

"Standing fast," Nixon slurred.

Winters actually laughed with Harry.

"You want to hear it?" he asked smiling widely.

Harry grunted.

"You wanna hear it? Listen up," Winters said. "The German army surrendered"

For a moment they all stared, open mouthed at Winters and Lip who were smiling.

"Holy shit," Adriana said, not able to stop herself.

Winters grinned wider.

"And I have a present for you," Winters said pointing at Nixon who got up and followed at once.

"Is it really true sir?" Adriana asked after Winters who turned around, his blue eyes shimmering.

"Yes it is."

Adriana suddenly needed to sit down, but all at once, she needed to go tell everyone what she knew. She jumped up and didn't realize how drunk she was until she tried to go down the stairs. She hit the walls as she descended the stairs tripping over her own feet. Somehow she made it to the bottom where she fell off the bottom stair right into the arms of Christenson.

"Shit Rosie," he said putting her on her feet. "How drunk are you?"

"Pretty damn drunk," she said. "Listen, we just got word that the German army surrendered."

Christenson's mouth dropped open and he couldn't say anything. Adriana smiled and patted his cheek.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

He turned without talking and pointed to the other side of the Eagles nest. She smacked his shoulder smiling then trotted off. She came out on the balcony were Luz was lying where she left him, now surrounded by most of the Toccoa men and Hattie. She was greeted with a round of hellos from all of them and an invitation from Luz to sit down.

"Listen boys," she began, but suddenly got very dizzy.

She started to fall back, but Talb was there.

"You alright?" he asked then he caught a wiff of her breath. "Shit. She never could hold her liquor."

Talb sat her down on the lounge beside Luz who sat up and rubbed her back.

"You alright Bell?"

"I'm more than alright," she said meeting his eyes. "The German army surrendered."

No one spoke for a full minute.

"The ones we are fighting?" Malarkey asked.

Adriana laughed and nodded.

"Holy shit," Liebgott said mirroring her earlier reaction.

"Is the war over Rosie?" Babe asked.

"It is here. I don't know about in the Pacific, but it is here."

"We are heading for Austria in the morning," Adriana said grinning and holding out her unopened bottle of wine.

Luz took it, opened it and took a swig.

"Happy V-E day boys," Adriana said taking the bottle and passing it around. "Happy V-E day.

Instead of an aggressive combat unit, Easy company became an occupation force; and no one wanted to leave Burchesguarden… until they saw Austria.

It's green, rolling hills, shimmering lakes and shining sun, coupled with the news that Germany surrendered made Easy Company happy and at ease with life. As they rolled into Austria they passed hundreds of German's on foot, walking in the other direction toward their home country. As Adriana watched them she was jealous. Their war was over. They got to go home to their families. They didn't have to fight anymore. They were at peace.

"So you reckon they'll make us run up those or ski down em?" Talb asked referring to the snowy Alps in the distance.

The men around him smiled, but said nothing in response. The reality that the war in Europe was over was slowly seeping its way into their minds, and no one needed to talk to express the joy they were feeling. Luz was sitting beside Adriana, watching her. She had her head back against the siding on the truck, her eyes closed. He knew she wasn't asleep because of the soft smile graced her pink lips. Her breathing was slow and even and she was enjoying the warm silence of the rolling hills as much as anyone. Luz watched her beautiful face, framed with carmel hair that was blowing softly from the wind of the trucks.

Her face suddenly flashed between the beautiful, serine thing in front of him to a dark, pained expression. The scene followed.

_It was snowing in Bastogne. It was dark and Adriana was crying out. Her face was contorted in pain. Shadows were flashing across her face from the tree above them. They were in the hole at the front of the line with a tree trapping them. The bullet in her hip was making her bleed uncontrollably. Her eyes were shut, tears escaping and running down her cheeks. Her hands were grasping at his jacket as he tried to stop the blood. Her face flashed again – _

Then the scene was gone and the beautiful woman was back in front of him, alive and well. He sighed and leaned back, slipping his hand into hers lying open on the seat; her fingers curling around his. She squeezed and rolled her head to one side to look at him. He smiled and she returned it then she closed her eyes again.

As Easy company continued moving into Austria, the rolling hills began to be smattered with small houses and large farmland and finally they gave way to small towns and villages. Women working in the fields stopped as the Americans came by. They came up to the road waving and cheering. Malarkey, who was a little drunk, was declaring his love for all the woman he saw. He was leaning over the edge of the truck with Shifty and Moor reaching out and touching the woman's fingers.

"Man, the war is over!" Malarkey said slapping Moor's shoulder.

After a few more bumpy minutes of driving, the American convoy pulled up to an elaborate white castle with red accents around the windows and doors and red balcony railings. It was complete with tall spires on the two corner towers and ivy growing up them. Nixon, Winters, Welsh, Adriana and Speirs climbed up the stairs to the porch that overlooked a huge lake surrounded by lush, green mountains while the other men explored the town.

Adriana found herself in an ornate room with white walls and gold accents. Fifteen foot ceilings with ridiculous chandeliers hanging down made every step echo. The sun was shining through the huge windows onto the small table in the middle of the room that Winters was sitting at. Adriana thought the little table looked comical in the huge, empty room, but now was the worst time to laugh. Winters and the German Colonel were meeting to discuss the formal surrender. She, Welsh and Nixon were standing behind Winters while the Colonel and one of his soldiers were standing on the other side.

"I wonder what will happen to us," the German officer started. "To people like you and me when there are finally no more wars to occupy us."

Winters watched the officer with his usual stoic expression.

"Have all your men collect their weapons, deposit them at the church, the school and the airfield," Winters said.

"Very well," the officer said with a small nod, then he went for his gun.

Adriana's hand slid to her side arm. The German saw and smiled at her.

"Is she always so jumpy?"

Winters glanced behind him and shook his head.

"Yes," he said as the officer pulled out his Luger.

He put it out to Winters.

"Please accept this as my formal surrender," he said and Adriana pulled her hand away from her gun causing the Colonel to smile. "It's better than to lay it on the desk of a clerk."

Winters stood and looked down at the gun then back up at the Colonel.

"You may keep your side arm Colonel," Winters said.

The German blinked, surprised at Winters then smiled. He and the other German stomped making the loud noise echo then they both saluted.

"Roosevelt, show them out?" Winters asked.

Adriana nodded and led the Colonel to the door. She turned and saluted him.

"You would salute a German officer who just surrendered to your Major?" he asked.

"I don't follow," Adriana said confused.

"I surrendered to your commander. Why would you salute me?"

Adriana smiled.

"You salute the rank, not the man," she said echoing Colonel Sink's words from long ago.

The German smiled.

"That is clever," he said. "What is your name?"

"Lt. Adriana Roosevelt," she answered.

The Colonel's eyebrows shot up.

"You must be an incredible woman to have made it so far in this war and to move so far up in rank."

"She is," Nixon said coming to stand behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Winters was standing to his left and Welsh to his right.

"You men are very lucky to have spent such a long time with a very talented, and if I may say it, beautiful woman."

Adriana felt herself blushing but she didn't look away. She held his green eyes. He put a hand out. She took it without hesitation and shook it then turned to Winters and did the same.

"It has been my pleasure to surrender to you and your Lt."

Winters nodded and the Colonel left with his general. Winters followed with Nixon, Speirs, Welsh and Adriana behind him. As they headed for the room where a video was being shown about the war in the pacific, Perconte and Bull stopped her.

"Hey Rosie, wanna come hunting with us?"

Perconte looked far too excited for hunting, but hunting deer was better than freezing your ass off in a foxhole, or dropping from an airplane behind enemy lines. She looked after Winters who was watching her. He smiled and nodded.

"Alright Perco lets go," Adriana said slinging her arm over his shoulder.

Half an hour later Adriana, Perconte and Bull had four others, including Shifty and were tromping through the forest. Perconte was in a crouched position as they walked. Adriana looked to her left and giggled at him catching Liebgott's attention.

"What are you crouching down for Perco? You think the deer is gonna shoot back?"

"Leave me alone," Perconte said.

It seemed his good mood from earlier was gone.

"How bout you all just shut up, and let Shifty kill us some dinner," Bull said spitting out a mouthful of tobacco.

"Whats da matter Bull? You tired of eating dried up spuds three times a day?" Perconte jeered.

"Eh you know what, I got an idea," Liebgott said. "Why don't we just shoot Bull here and feed the whole company for a week."

Adriana snickered but Bull stopped and glared at Liebgott. Anyone who didn't know Bull might have been afraid of his glare, but fortunately, Liebgott, Adriana, Perconte, Malarkey, Shifty and Ramirez knew him. Suddenly Shifty held up a hand and the other six stopped. There in a little clearing was a full grown buck. Shifty took aim as it turned and looked toward him. The six of them looked between the buck and Shifty until something cracked on the other side of the deer making it turn and bolt.

"Aww god damn it Shifty, you let him get away," Liebgott groaned. "We outta be glad to be rid of yah."

"Shut up Lieb," Adriana growled.

"I wish," Shifty said. "It seems they want me to stick around for awhile."

"You serious?" Liebgott asked.

"How many point yah need?" Malarkey asked.

"Fifteen."

"Fifteen? Jesus Christ I thought I had it bad," Malarkey said.

"No purple hearts, never was injured," he said with a sigh and they continued walking.

"Being injured ain't all that great," Adriana said sighing.

"How many points you need Rosie?" Ramirez asked.

Adriana sighed.

"Thirty."

"What the hell?" Liebgott said. "You have been hit more than any of us."

"I never went to the hospital," she said. "I never actually got a purple heart because no one who mattered knew I got hurt."

The men shook their heads.

"It doesn't matter anyway," she said smiling. "I couldn't let you boys go to the Pacific alone."

* * *

Shifty, Adriana and the boys were forced to come back empty handed at the end of the day. The next morning Easy company was assembled in the town square. Speirs was shouting out orders for the enlisted men. Adriana was standing on one side of Speirs with Welsh on the other side. They were standing facing all three Platoon's. Talbert was standing in front of First Platoon at attention. Lip was in front of Second and Malarkey was standing in front of Third. The non-coms were on the edges of their platoons standing at ease, looking rather bored to Adriana.

"At ease," Speirs finally said. "General Taylor is aware that many veterans, including Normandy veterans still do not have the 85 points required to be discharged."

Adriana watched her men's faces as they all mentally counted their points and were disappointed.

"On this, the anniversary of D-Day he has authorized a lottery, to send one member of each company home. Effective immediately."

Adriana watched Talbert bring a helmet up to Welsh who pretended to dig around in the helmet for a minute then pulled out a folded piece of paper. As Talb walked past her she grinned, seeing no other name's in the helmet.

"And the winner is…" Speirs paused for effect. "Serial number, 13066266, Sergeant Darrel C. Powers."

Instantly everyone who knew Shifty whistled and cheered for him. Luz's whistle stood out easily to Adriana. The cheer rose above the crowd of people as Grant congratulated Shifty. The happiness for Shifty was short lived as Speirs quieted everyone.

"Roosevelt."

She stepped up and took over.

"Sgt. Grant will see to it that Second Platoon takes over at the crossroads checkpoint beginning tonight at 2200 hours. General Taylor has also announced that the 101st airborne division will definitely be redeployed to the Pacific."

The silence that fell over everyone was almost pliable.

"So, beginning tomorrow at 0600 hours, we will begin training to go to war."

She paused.

"Again."

The men snickered and the mood was lightened slightly. After Speirs dismissed them Adriana darted after Shifty but lost him in the crowd of people. She decided Shifty would want to say goodbye to Winters so she jogged to his office. She was about to climb the stairs when he came down. He jumped when he realized it was her. She stepped away about a foot and looked up into his face.

"I'm glad you're going home Shift," Adriana said smiling.

Shifty nodded and faked a smile and Adriana frowned.

"Look Shift, I –" but he held up a hand.

"I'm gonna miss you Adri. You been a good friend. You –"

"Don't start that shit with me," she said quietly. "You're going home now hug me damn it."

She opened her arms but let him come to her. He finally sighed and wrapped her in his arms. He lifted her off her feet for a moment then set her down and pressed his lips to her hair. He closed his eyes. He was going back to the states, but he was hardly going home. He breathed in enjoying maybe the last time he would get to be this close to Adriana. This close to the woman he loved. His home would, like Luz said, forever be with her. He wasn't sure how he was going to go back to his old life. His old friends, old family without someone to tie him to the real life that was war. Everything seemed so fake even now before he got back, he couldn't imagine how it would be when he was walking the streets of his home town, just another civilian. He would be doing mundane things like going shopping, fixing the house, going to work, hunting, ext. He wouldn't be in the war anymore. He would have no purpose. Adriana pulled away and looked in his eyes. Shifty almost cried out he was so frustrated. He wanted her to have the same look in her eyes while she was looking at him as she did when she looked at Luz. He knew it was foolish, and he'd had a chance to make her love him, but it wasn't enough. He had to let her go and let her and Luz be happy. He sighed and put on a convincing smile. Adriana believed it thankfully.

"I hope you find whatever you need to back home Shifty," Adriana said.

He nodded but didn't trust himself to speak. They walked back out onto the street and he turned back to her and placed a hand on her cheek.

"I – I – aww hell Adri. I love you."

He put a hand on either side of her cheek and pressed his lips to her forehead for a long moment, trying to pour all the love he had in him into it, then let go and turned without looking at her. He closed his eyes and tried to hold back the tears until he got to the jeep taking him anyway. Coming around a corner he ran straight into someone. He blinked back the tears and looked down into Luz's surprised eyes.

"Hey Shifty," he greeted him rather cheerfully. "You ok buddy?"

Shifty nodded and met his eyes.

"You take care of Adri," he said thickly.

Luz's eyebrows knit together.

"You know I will."

Shifty nodded and awkwardly patted Luz's shoulder.

"C'ya,"

"Hey Shift!"

He stopped but didn't turn so Luz took his arm and turned him.

"I'm sorry I was such an asshole to you."

"You had every right to be," Shifty said looking at the ground. "I gotta go. Be safe." He paused. "And make sure she makes it through this damn thing, and don't ever let her go."

Luz looked taken aback by Shifty's sudden eagerness.

"I swear, she will make it through this," Luz said.

Shifty nodded once then turned and was gone. Luz turned to see Adriana peaking around the wall.

"What was that about?" she asked not moving.

Luz put a hand out to her and she took it and came around the corner. He put his arm around her shoulder and looked after Shifty.

"He wants you to get through this war," Luz said simply.

Adriana frowned up at him.

"We all want to live through this war," she protested.

Luz shrugged and looked at her.

"I don't know Bell."

She sighed and put her head against his chest.

"Tired?" he asked.

She nodded. He grinned and led her away to Easy Company's billet. Surprising enough, Luz was going to miss Shifty. Brothers fight, but he and Shifty were still brothers. The war had made them forever connected, even if they did love the same woman.


	38. We Lucky Few

**_Alright my fans who just happen to be my friends as well. This is bittersweet for me knowing I will never write Adriana and Luz together in a war again. I love them and I love all of you!I own nothing but Adriana and Hattie._**

* * *

The next morning Adriana was rudely awakened by a banging on her and Luz's door. Luz was up in an instant, thinking it was a mortar or some other kind of explosion. Adriana quieted Luz with a hand on his chest.

"What do you want?" she asked irritably.

"Adriana, I need your help!"

It was Hattie.

"Oh and Winters needs to see you Luz!"

Adriana grinned. She hadn't told anyone she was with Luz. Adriana liked people assuming they were together. Adriana pulled the blanket off her and threw her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Hang on Hattie," she said rubbing her face.

Adriana felt Luz shiver beside her as he got out from under the blanket.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Too fucking early," Luz said putting his forehead against her back.

Adriana grinned and turned around. She grabbed his face between her palms and kissed him. At first he was surprised because all that night she hadn't kissed him because she was afraid 'things' would get out of hand. She pulled away quickly.

"We have to go," she said smiling gently.

He sighed and stood grabbing his gear and shirt then opened the door.

"What can I help you with so _early,"_ Luz asked.

"I need Adriana," she said. "And Winters needs to see you."

Luz rolled his eyes but turned and gave Adriana a kiss on the cheek then left the room. Adriana pulled her green button up on then her field Jacket. She grabbed her rifle and followed Hattie into the hall.

"So what's going on?" she asked.

"Joe got an order to check out a German officer who was at one of the concentration camps."

"Shit," Adriana said knowing exactly why Hattie was worried.

Hattie led the way to a jeep where Liebgott and Skinny were waiting to leave. Webster jogged up to them.

"It's good you're here. Maybe you two can talk some sense into him."

Adriana sighed and made her way to the jeep. She jumped in behind Liebgott.

"What's going on Joe?" she asked him.

"I'll show you when we get there," he said stiffly.

Adriana nodded and leaned back. She glanced at Webster and Hattie and nodded them over. Hattie got in between Liebgott and Skinny and Web took the back with Adriana. The drive to the small farmhouse was short, but they sat in the car on the hill across the way for twenty minutes until Web spoke up.

"Lieb I fucking hate this."

"Aww Jesus Christ," he said. "They fingered him. One of those Polls said he was at the camp and he lives right here."

"Which camp?" Webster asked.

"Whatever camp."

He paused.

"I'm under direct orders and I'm happy to follow it," he said as he got out.

Hattie followed close behind him, then Skinny. Adriana glanced at Webster. He sighed and met her eyes.

"We gotta help," she said.

He growled but stood and jumped out of the jeep. They caught up to the three ahead of them and Web started in again.

"Is this a personal thing Joe?"

"No it's a god damn order," he hissed.

"Does Winters know about this?" Adriana asked causing him to snicker.

"It doesn't matter."

"The FUCK it doesn't," Web yelled. "What if this guy is just a soldier? What if he is an officer with no ties to the SS? What. If. He. Is. Innocent?"

"You know what, what if he is a fucking Nazi Commandant of a fucking slave camp?"

"Which one? Which camp? You don't have any proof!" Web yelled.

"Where you at Laingsburg?" he asked.

"You know I was," Web said quietly.

"You think he's a soldier like you and me? A fucking innocent German officer?"

He paused and looked at Web hard.

"Where the hell have you been for the past three years."

He turned to walk into the house but ran into Adriana.

"You gonna order me to stand down?" he asked venomously.

"If I did, would it do any good?" she asked.

Liebgott set his jaw.

"No."

Adriana smiled.

"Good."

Liebgott raised his eyebrows at her then smiled. He went past her and banged open the door. Hattie grabbed Adriana before she could go in.

"I brought you with me so you could stop him from doing something stupid, not go join him!" she growled.

Adriana frowned at Hattie and turned around to face her fully.

"I know you saw that camp. I know you saw the effect it had on Joe. If there is ANY chance this guy was in charge of a camp, I will go in there and kill him if Joe can't," Adriana said darkly.

Hattie raised her eyebrows as people began yelling inside and Web came outside and lit a smoke for himself. Both women watched him lighting his cigarette with shaking hands, then Skinny came out.

"He is guilty. Liebgott says so."

Web nodded.

"He probably is."

Adriana turned from Hattie and had her hand on the door when a gunshot went off. They all jumped and the door banged open into Adriana. She stumbled back as the German ran out holding a bloody wound on his neck. It was suspiciously similar to Liebgott's wound. Liebgott charged out after him and tried to fire his side arm, but it jammed.

"Son of a bitch," Liebgott growled. "Shoot him."

No one moved.

"SHOOT HIM!" Liebgott yelled, his voice echoing off the hills.

"No," was Web's defiant answer.

Liebgott watched defeated as the German ran up to the top of the hill when a shot rang out. Everyone turned to find Adriana with her rifle at her shoulder. Hattie was looking at Adriana's back, mouth wide. Everyone else was looking at the dead Kraut.

The drive back was quiet and a little bit awkward. Hattie had chosen a back seat with Skinny while Adriana sat between Web and Liebgott.

"Officers don't run," Liebgott spoke up suddenly.

"The war is over," Webster said. "Anybody would run."

When they got back the five of them went their separate ways, but Liebgott thought better of it and chased Hattie down.

"Hey! Hattie!"

She continued walking.

"Hey I thought you were a soldier! You should be used to men dying."

Hattie rounded on him so fast he almost couldn't stop without running into her.

"I am a soldier," she growled. "But I'm a human too. Are _you_ one of those?"

Liebgott started to say something but Hattie stopped him.

"Don't you dare tell me you are because I saw how you shot that German. HE WAS A HUMAN TOO! If we don't act like humans, we are just as bad as the Krauts! We might as well have been the leader of those camps!"

"Don't you say that!" Liebgott shouted drawing the attention of most of the men milling around including Luz and Adriana. "Don't you say that! Those bastards treat innocent people like CATTLE!"

"What makes you so different?" Hattie screamed. "That German I just watched get murdered could have been an INNOCENT MAN!"

Liebgott didn't seem to have anything to say.

"This is stupid," she said quietly. "I should have gone back to Charlie Company with my CO. If I knew Easy Company treated people like this, I would have stayed with the Germans when Adriana got captured."

Liebgott's face mirrored his face on the day he'd had to tell the people from the camp that they had to go back inside. He looked like he might cry.

"Hattie," he said so quietly, only Hattie could hear him.

She frowned then turned and walked away. Luz looked at Adriana.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We killed a German who was suspected of being a Commandant of a concentration camp. Hattie didn't like it."

Luz looked after her and then back to Adriana.

"I'll talk to her."

"Why?" Adriana asked.

"I have something to tell her that might help," Luz said kissing Adriana's cheek. "You go see how Liebgott is."

Adriana nodded and they parted. Luz jogged after Hattie who had just entered Easy Company's billet.

"Hey Hattie wait up!"

Realizing it wasn't Liebgott following her, Hattie turned. She sighed.

"What's up Luz?"

He came to a stop panting beside her.

"You know for a Paratrooper, you're kind of out of shape," she said with a small, unenthusiastic grin.

"Listen I'm going to tell you something that a very wise guy told me."

Hattie sighed and opened her door for him. He entered and brought her over to a small table. He sat her down and sat across from her. He took her hands and looked her in the eyes.

"Liebgott loved before and he may love again. But if he loves you now, what else matters? He's not perfect but you ain't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if he can make you laugh, make you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He may not be thinking about you every second of the day, although right now, I guarantee you, he is, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you can break – his heart. So damn it dont hurt him, don't change him, and don't expect more than he can give. Smile when he makes you happy, let him know when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there."

He finished and Hattie raised her eyebrows. Luz realized it would have sounded better coming out of Guarnere's mouth, but this would have to do.

"Ok that speech was previously about a woman, so some of it might not make sense, but it's still true," Luz said grinning.

Hattie sighed.

"Look," he said trying another tactic. "You like him right?"

Hattie met his eyes.

"I think I might feel more than that for him."

"So you love him?"

She nodded.

"Then what else matters? He isn't going to change, and neither are you. This war may be over, but people are still going to have hard feelings toward the Krau- Germans. Especially Liebgott. Maybe if you would have known him as long as we all have, you would have known how passionate he is about things he cares about."

Hattie dropped her face, but Luz caught her chin and brought her eyes back up to meet his.

"Luckily one of the things he cares about most in this world… is you."

Hattie's face lit up for a second.

"Go find him darlin'," Luz said smiling.

Hattie set her jaw and stood slowly. Luz followed her out and shut the door as she walked, surprisingly slowly down the hall and outside. Luz followed and spotted Adriana talking to a rather distraught Liebgott. He saw Hattie coming before Adriana did and pushed the Lt. Adriana went back to Luz and watched.

"What did you say to her?" Adriana asked.

"I told her what Guarnere told me."

Adriana raised her eyebrows at him.

"I had to tweak it a little," Luz said with a shrug.

"I hope so," Adriana said with a laugh.

"Alright Joe listen close," Hattie said pointing a long finger at his nose.

He didn't say anything.

"Are you listening?"

He nodded.

"Alright, I don't approve of you killing that man, weather he was innocent or not."

Liebgott was smart enough not to state his opinion about that fact.

"And I don't think Adriana should have either," she said raising her voice so the Lt. could hear. "But someone brought it to my attention that there are more important things, especially in this war than what I think. Luckily, I like you more than I like my opinions."

Liebgott's face relaxed significantly, but Hattie poked him in the chest making him tense up again.

"I love you."

He blinked a few times, surprised. Hattie kissed his cheek and a smile broke across her face. He then found it ok to smile and he tentatively pulled her into a hug. She easily wrapped her arms around his back. Suddenly there was a cry for a medic and everyone raced each other to the edge of town where an ambulance and the medic from the concentration camp stood.

"It's Genovitch," Adriana said falling back into Luz for support.

"He was dead when they brought him in," the medic said to Winters.

"Shit," Adriana cursed, turning into Luz to hide her tears.

Spears was on the other side of her and surprising everyone he put a hand on her lower back, trying to be discreet. Adriana was the only one who didn't notice.

"75 points," Web said. "He was ten points short."

Slowly everyone went away until the only ones standing, watching the ambulance drive away was Luz, Adriana, Liebgott, Hattie and Speirs, who was now tracing a figure 8 on Adriana's back.

"The Germans surrendered!" Adriana suddenly shouted making Speirs jump. "Why are people still dying?"

She looked up at Luz who was nodding.

"I know baby, I know," he whispered pulling her face into his chest. "It's going to be alright."

Adriana began shaking under Luz's arms when Winters came up.

"Roosevelt," he said quietly.

Adriana stopped shaking instantly and lifted her face off Luz's chest and untangled herself from him.

"Yes sir?" she said, her voice surprisingly steady.

"I need you to go with Grant on the patrol tonight."

"Yes sir," she said.

Winters nodded dismissing her. As she jogged away to find Grant, Winters dismissed the other three and looked at Speirs.

"I don't want anyone else getting hurt. We are too. Damn. Close."

Speirs nodded.

"Yes sir."

* * *

Adriana was going on patrol with two replacements, who's names she had heard, but didn't care enough to commit to memory. Thankfully Grant was there with her. He was successfully keeping her spirits up by telling a story about Guarnere.

"All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a guy jumps out of the hedgerow, shoves a trench knife up against his throat and screams, 'whose side are you on?'"

Grant and Adriana laughed, both having heard the story many times, but the replacements were confused.

"I don't get it," the younger one said.

"Its D-Day," Adriana explained patiently. "Second Platoon's own Bill Guarnere."

"Old Gonorrhea himself, just landed in Normandy and wound up like I don't know what."

Grant laughed.

"whose side are you on?' Fucking character," Grant remembered.

"What happened to him?" the older replacement asked.

"Got his leg blown off in Bastogne," Grant answered as he slowed the car.

"What do you think Rosie?" he asked about the situation he had stopped the car for.

There was a man in the middle of the road with three cars, two of which were running. There were three dead bodies accompanying the cars.

"I don't know Grant," she said suspiciously. "Looks like trouble."

"Aww shit," Grant said suddenly. "Wait here."

He got out and addressed the man as 'Matt.'

"You ok Matt? You need some help?"

'Matt' chuckled and wiped his brow with the back of the hand that he had his side arm in. As he began to speak, 'Matt' reminded Adriana disturbingly of Cobb when he was wasted.

"They wouldn't give me any gas." He paused. "Krauts!"

He walked to the last jeep and after hesitating for a moment Grant followed him.

"Chuck," Adriana warned getting out.

"Stay there," Grant warned.

"Don't tell me what to do, Grant. Get back here! Just leave him!"

He ignored her.

"I tried to explain, but this fucking Limey wouldn't listen!" Matt shouted pointing his side arm at the dead Kraut. "I think he was a major."

"Look Private we got a problem here," Adriana said advancing on him.

Grant put a hand back to stop her. It was obvious the drunkin private didn't have any respect for ranks.

"Do YOU have any gas?" Matt asked turning to her.

"Why don't you give me your weapon," Grant tried.

"I guess I'll just use his jeep – I don't think he'll be needing it," Matt slurred.

"Hold on a minute alright," Grant said hurrying after him, but to Adriana's horror, Matt turned around and shot at Grant, hitting him in the side of the head.

"GRANT!" Adriana screamed and dropped to his side as Matt drove away.

She checked for and pulse, not expecting one, but there one.

"Oh thank God," she breathed. "Get over here!" she shouted at the replacements who didn't need to be told twice.

"Is he –,"

"He's alive," she said. "We have to get him back to the medics. On three lift. One. Two. Three."

With the two replacements help, Adriana managed to get Grant back in the jeep where she took the wheel and left a replacement to keep him still.

"Make sure he doesn't get jostled around too much!" she yelled to them.

"That would be easier if you weren't going a hundred miles an hour!" the replacement answered hoarsely.

"Shut up and hold him still!" Adriana replied shrilly

She stepped harder on the gas pedal making the jeep jump forward and tossing the replacements around. Once back in town she began laying on the horn, getting anyone and everyone's attention. She spied Doc Roe coming out of a building at the last second and slammed on the breaks, throwing the younger replacement into the front seat.

"DOC!" she screamed.

Although Roe was looking right at her he jumped hearing his name being screamed so frantically. He hadn't heard his name yelled like that since Bastogne.

"What's wrong?" he asked running up.

"Grant, he got shot," Adriana said already out of the car and helping the other replacement get Grant on a stretcher.

"Where?" asked Roe searching his chest for a wound.

"His head," Adriana said holding Grant still.

"Is he alive?" Roe asked skeptically.

"YES," she growled.

Roe stuck a plasma needle in Grant's arm before he even looked at his head. He handed the plasma to a replacement then began wrapping his wound. He jumped in the back seat and instructed the replacement to drive to Easy Company's billet. The younger replacement was still trying to get off the floorboards of the front seat when they stopped. Adriana, Roe and the other replacement picked Grant up and took him inside where they immediately ran into Talbert who took Adriana's place so she was free to find Speirs.

"Speirs!" she shouted through the halls. "Captain Speirs!"

After going up and down the halls for five minutes he burst out of his room glaring at her. She didn't give him time to speak.

"Grant has been shot."

His eyebrows came together at once.

"Take me to him."

Adriana wasted no time and got there just before the head medic. He took one look at the unconscious Toccoa man and declared he wasn't going to make it.

"You can't operate on him?" Roe questioned.

"Not me," he answered. "You'd need a brain surgeon. And even if you had one, I don't think there is any hope."

The medic walked away leaving Adriana, Talbert and Roe waiting for Speirs' orders. His eyes stayed trained on Grant for half a second more, then he turned to Adriana.

"You find that shooter, I want him alive."

Adriana nodded and helped him take Grant to the car then stormed back in the building with Talb on her heels. They entered the hall that had most of the Easy Company men mulling around smoking and talking. Adriana found Liebgott, Hattie and Popeye first. They all seemed to know what happened.

"I want a non com guarding each road block and at least two men watching every road out of town."

Adriana glanced around her at the growing mob of men.

"Bull, Malark. You each take a squad and one of these witnesses on a house to house search."

"Can we shoot this bastard on sight?" Malarkey asked as they exited the hall.

"Take him alive," Adriana ordered leaving no room for interpretation.

"Where's Grant now?" Bull asked.

"They took him to a Kraut hospital to see if they could drum up any good doctors," she answered turning to the taller man.

She found Luz had appeared beside her with a cigarette. She took it from him and took a long drag.

"Talb come with me. I'm going to turn this damn town upside down until I find the fucker," Adriana hissed. "Lieb, Hattie, Luz you come too. We could use as much man power as we can get."

With that a town wide search began for the infamous man named 'Matt.' He was found faster than expected by Malarkey and his squad, and brought back to Easy's billet, where he received proper punishment for shooting a Toccoa man. Adriana, Luz, Liebgott, Talb and Hattie got back last and could hear the punishment he was receiving. Talb started to walk in but Adriana stopped him.

"Why don't you, Luz and Hattie play some cards."

It wasn't a suggestion. Talbert frowned at her, but with a soft pull on his arm from Luz he turned to a table and began to shuffle. Liebgott glanced at Hattie who nodded her support of what he was about to do, then he followed her inside. The men stopped at once thinking she had come to stop them. She shoved past Christenson and Moor, whose sleeves were rolled up to the elbow. She came to a stop in front of 'Matt' and grabbed a handful of hair. She pulled his face up so she could look him in the eyes. Eye, seeing as one was swollen shut. She was planning on saying something witty before she began punching the shit out of him, but that didn't happen. As soon as she saw him, she saw Grant, two seconds before he got shot.

She landed her small fist perfectly on his cheekbone, hearing a satisfying crack. She didn't realize until later that the crack she heard was from her own knuckle breaking. She was too fueled with rage to feel pain. Perconte took a hold of his hair so Adriana was free to use both fists. Finally she backed away panting. Liebgott took hold of her shoulders as she inspected her work. His nose was surly broken and spilling blood down his front. His lip was torn up in several places, and a gash had opened above his right eye, along his hairline. He looked like shit.

"You alright?" Liebgott asked.

"Fine," she panted. "Have at him."

Liebgott didn't have to be told twice, and Adriana was tired and her knuckles were beginning to hurt. She backed into Bull, who held her up easily while the other men took their turns. Adriana sensed Speirs coming before he actually burst into the room. When he did however, everyone stopped and looked at him. Speirs caught sight of Adriana and her bruised, bloody knuckles first then asked, "This him?"

"That's him," Adriana confirmed, leaning even more of her body weight onto Bull.

"Replacement. I company," Bull said as Speirs stormed into the middle of the circle.

"Where's the weapon?" Speirs asked 'Matt.'

"What… weapon?" he sputtered.

Speirs promptly pistol whipped him.

"When you talk to an officer you say 'sir,'" he said venomously.

He wasn't listening. He was coughing and struggling for breath. Adriana glanced at the men, who now seemed uncomfortable with the beating now that their CO was doing it. In one swift motion, Speirs cocked his pistol and put it in the kid's mouth, causing everyone in the close vicinity to take a step or two back. Perconte, who was immediately behind the replacement, eyes got wide then backed as far away as he could. Adriana pressed into Bull, feeling his hands tighten on her shoulders. They collectively breathed in and held it, waiting for Speirs to pull the trigger.

Adriana could see the internal battle going on in their CO's head. His face kept flashing between anger and pain, and his hand was shaking so much, it was making his gun rattle. He was standing with his gun pointed at the kid's head for so long, some of the men began to think better of watching and turned their heads away. Bull held, still tighter onto Adriana's shoulders, seemingly instinctively protecting her in case Speirs snapped and started shooting everyone.

Suddenly he pulled his gun away and turned his hand over, releasing the tension in the room instantly. He wiped the blood from the side of his hand and took off his hat.

"Have the MPs take care of this piece of shit," he said to Adriana as he passed.

"Grant's dead?" she asked hoarsely.

"Nope," Speirs said turning. "Kraut surgeon says he'll make it."

Adriana raised her eyebrows at how nonchalantly Speirs said it.

"Alright tough guy, on your feet," Liebgott said to 'Matt.'

Adriana didn't want to think about what would have happened to the kid if Grant died. Bull practically carried her out of the room where he set her on her feet.

"You alright Adri?" he questioned quietly.

She nodded and patted his cheek.

"I'll be fine Bull. Thanks," she said and began walking away to god knows where when a hand was on her shoulder.

Adriana knew who it was just by the touch. The hand slid down her shoulder, over her arm and under her hand. She flinched.

"How did you manage to hurt yourself hitting that guy?"

"I'm a delicate flower," she said glumly.

Luz chuckled.

"That, my dear, is one thing you are not. Come on, let's get Roe to check you out."

* * *

That night Roe had concluded her knuckles were broken in four places, so she was put in a cast, which she promptly took off. She refused to wear one, so Roe put a splint on her broken fingers and left her knuckles. Late that night, or really early the next morning, she and Luz finally got back to their room. She pulled off all her outside gear and clothes down to her pants and white crew neck then fell on the bed face first, getting a chuckle from Luz. He sat down beside her and lifted her to a sitting position.

"Lemmy sleep," she slurred earning her another chuckle from him.

"You're so cute," he said poking her nose and almost making her fall over.

"I know. Can I sleep now?" she asked.

He smiled and pulled her to the head of the bed, and put the blankets over them. She rolled over and pulled him with her so his arm was draped over her hip. She laced her fingers with his and breathed a sigh of contentment. She heard Luz's sigh echo hers.

"Do you want our relationship to be more like Liebgott and Hattie's?" she asked suddenly.

Luz opened his eyes and propped his head up on his elbow. He thought for a minute.

"The physical part, sure, but I know that will come when we are just civilians again."

"What is the other part?" Adriana asked.

"The emotional part," Luz said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Adriana waited for an explanation and Luz sighed happily.

"Adriana I have known you for more than three years –,"

But he was interrupted by a soft snore emitting from Adriana. She was already asleep. He laughed and pulled her closer.

"I have known you for three years and it only took me three seconds to fall for you," he said quietly against her ear. He didn't know if she ever heard him, but it didn't matter.

* * *

To fast for Adriana, someone was knocking on the door. It wasn't obnoxious, so she knew it was someone of authority. She grudgingly untangled herself from Luz's hold and went to the door. She rubbed her eyes and opened it.

"Major Winter sir," she said surprised.

"Lt. Roosevelt. Colonel Sink is hosting a party for the officers, and I would like a minute of your time."

"Of course sir," she replied, and stepped back inside to get dressed.

She grabbed her fancy, itchy, dress clothes the army issued for times where they weren't deployed anywhere. They were clean, pressed and completely useless if anyone all of a sudden was forced to fight. She couldn't even rotate her arms in a full circle. She could hear Winters outside pacing so she quickly changed, quietly so as not to wake Luz and walked out the door.

"Those look unused," Winters noticed.

"They are sir," she said. "I haven't had the occasion to wear them."

Winters nodded and led the way down the stairs, across the street and to a building. As they got closer, Adriana heard cheerful music emitting from the back. They entered and walked into the cottage like back yard that looked over a huge lake. Winters took two glasses of champagne and handed one to Adriana then leaned against the railing looking over the lake.

"You turned down the offer, well order to go home when your father died," Winters said getting straight to the point.

Adriana's breath hitched in her throat. She hadn't thought about her father since that day, and it had been overshadowed at once by the threat of Hattie leaving.

"I wasn't going to just leave sir," she said taking a sip of champagne and clearing her throat. "I couldn't just leave."

Winters nodded.

"I was going to reassign you and not give you a choice in the matter, but I'm leaving this up to you."

"Where sir?" she asked.

"Paris."

Adriana shook her head.

"No thank you sir. I would like to stay right where I am and eventually jump into the Tokyo or Japan sir. With the men."

"I thought you would say that," Winters said with a nod. "Which is why I asked Malarkey to be here."

He held his hand out to Malarkey, who Adriana didn't know was behind her.

"So it's an airborne exhibition," he began walking under a green archway with Malarkey next to him and Adriana following. "Of one of every allied combat plane they have used in the war."

"Uh – hu… I mean, yes sir," Malarkey said correcting himself.

"You'll be like a technical advisor to make sure they get everything right."

Adriana grinned at Malarkey, who had a small smile on his face, like he couldn't believe he was getting away from the war.

"I understand sir," he said trying to hide his excitement.

"I'm sorry it's not a more hospitable location," Winters apologized with a grin.

Malarkey laughed.

"No sir… Paris is just fine and if you need me to go, someone has to be there."

"Yes we do, we absolutely do, and a driver will drop you off at a hotel of your choice and umm, I don't think we will be seeing you back here any time soon."

"I won't let you down sir," Malarkey said smiling sincerely at Winters.

Adriana didn't remember the last time she had seen him smile like that. He looked so relieved. He saluted, but Winters put out his hand. Malarkey did the classic man smile where he was obviously overjoyed, but he tried to hide it and shook Winter's hand. When they were finished and Malarkey was walking away, Adriana chased him down. He heard her small footfalls and turned just in time to catch her in a hug.

He spun around, his smile now a full grin from ear to ear.

"Rosie, I'm getting out of here!"

"I can't think of anyone else who deserves it more Malark," Adriana said hugging him tighter.

Finally he put her down and nodded back to Winters who seemed to be waiting for her.

"Better go," she said smiling.

"Hey," he stopped her. "I want an invitation to yours and Luz's wedding in my mail box when I get home."

"You better have a plus one!" she said happily as she jogged back to Winters and Lip.

As she came up Winters was looking over the water.

"Right now," he said. "Down at the air field, there is a German General who is a little about having to surrender to a private Babe Heffron from south Philly. Thinks it's beneath his stature."

Lip smiled and Adriana suppressed a laugh.

"Understandable sir," Lip said, his grin widening.

"I thought 2nd Lt Carwood Lipton from West Verginia and 1st Lt Adriana Roosevelt from Washington D.C. could sooth his ruffled feathers.

"No problem sir," Lip said. "Major. Is this the kind of job I can expect from now on?"

"Yeah," Winters said. "When we're not sunning ourselves by the lake."

He smiled. Adriana noticed how much everyone seemed to be smiling nowadays. A side effect of their war being over she guessed. She and Lip saluted Winters and jogged out to the jeeps where Nixon was already waiting. They jumped in and Winters came a few seconds later and drove them out to the airfield.

They pulled up and Lip and Adriana jumped out as Liebgott walked toward them. He saluted them as the German General followed. He came to a stop right in front of Adriana who already felt short, unless she was around Perconte, but this man was like 6'9" at least. Even Lip had to look up at him. Adriana had to take a step back so it was more comfortable to look at him. He was an old man. Maybe forty-nine, fifty. He had a square face and eyes that might have been too close together and ears that might have been too big. His cheeks were sunken, but there was a general air of pride about him. Something Adriana liked at once. He looked over Adriana's head and nodded at Winters who held his hand out to Lip and Adriana. The German looked between Adriana and Lip, trying to decide who he should speak to. Finally he set his jaw and went with the rank and spoke to Adriana.

"With your permission, I would like to address my men briefly," he said.

"That would be fine General," Adriana said with a small smile.

He nodded to all three of them then went back to the front of the German line. Adriana let Lip go with the General and she leaned against the jeep just as Hattie, Luz and Babe appeared around a truck.

"Holy shit," Babe said under his breath.

The others turned following his gaze and saw a face they hadn't seen since they jumped into Holland.

"Captain Sobel," Winters said.

"Major Winters," Sobel said meeting his eyes for half a second then looking away pretending to be interested in something else.

"Captain Sobel."

Winters' voice was authoritative making Sobel stop, but not turn. He looked like a fool.

"We salute the rank, not the man."

Adriana smirked. Sobel turned and gave a slow, forced salute, that Winters promptly released him from. He turned and practically ran from Winters. As he passed, Adriana, Liebgott, Luz and Babe saluted him, driving home the point that even though they hated his guts, they were still respectful. Then the General began speaking.

"Liebgott?" Winters said asking for a translation.

"Men, it's been a long war, it's been a tough war."

He paused for the next line.

"You've fought bravely… proudly for your country."

"You are a special group."

"You've found in one another a bond,"

"That exists only in combat."

"Among brothers."

"You've shared foxholes."

The next line, Adriana thought she could see the General's face soften and she knew why when Liebgott relayed the message.

"Held each other in dire moments."

"You've seen death and suffered together."

Adriana saw Liebgott's lip quirk in a tiny smile as he heard the next line.

"I'm proud to have served with each and every one of you."

"You deserve long and happy lives in peace."

All the Americans sitting in the jeep felt the General's message hit them as hard as it was hitting the German's who were listening. Hattie let her arm wrap itself around Liebgott's neck and hang loosely down his chest. She rested her chin on his shoulder. He grasped her arm and pulled it tighter around him and turned placing a small kiss on her cheek. Adriana found Luz's hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. They did all deserve long happy lives in peace.

* * *

**D-Day plus 434**

That morning Adriana woke up feeling like something was going to be different. She told Luz, who promptly laughed at her.

"There aint nothing different about today. It's just one more day in this war. Luckily we won't be fighting or training today."

"What do you mean?" Liebgott asked walking by with Hattie.

Adriana laughed.

"Today, we play ball."

Hattie groaned. She was terrible at sports, but no one cared. Easy company was already gathered on the baseball diamond when Hattie, Liebgott, Adriana and Luz jogged out in their P.T. gear. There were hoots and cat calls regarding the length of Adriana's rolled shorts. She went along with it and modeled the shorts as Luz tried to cover up her legs until a voice she knew too well echoed over the others.

"Now boys, is that any way to treat a lady?"

Adriana spun on the spot, catching the glint of brilliant blue that were his eyes.

"BUCK!" she shrieked and charged across the diamond.

She threw herself into his arms and he spun her around.

"Ahhh Rosie!" he said grinning and setting her on her feet. "How is my favorite girl?"

"Your back! Why are you back? You come to fight the Japs with us?" she asked enthusiastically.

He sighed.

"Naw I think I'm outta this war for good."

"I figured." She smiled. "Well lucky you."

She threw her arms around his middle again.

"I'm so glad you're ok."

He leaned down and closed his eyes in her hair.

"Yeah I missed you too," he said fondly.

"Hey I hope I'm not interrupting you ladies, but can we play some ball?" Liebgott shouted from third base.

Adriana shot him the finger and yelled, "I thought I told you never to call me a lady!"

She and Buck jogged to home plate, where she was up first.

With jeering from all three bases and Perconte in the outfield, it took Adriana two pitches to hit the ball. It went right out to Liebgott, who caught it on the first bounce and fired it across to Luz on first, who just managed to jump high enough to get it and bring it back down on Adriana's back as she slid to first.

The game went on for what could have been hours to them, and they would have done it for hours to come, but their fun had to end sometime. That time came when Speirs called them over.

"Fast man would have had it Perco," Winters said smiling at the small Italian. "Listen up. We've got some news."

Everyone waited, expecting the news to be they were jumping into the Pacific.

"This morning, President Truman, got the unconditional surrender from the Japanese. The war's over."

No one spoke. No one believed it. Regardless of points, medals, or wounds, every man, and two women in the 101st airborne would be going home. Each of them would be forever connected by their shared experiences and each would have to rejoin the world as best they could. There would not be a day that went by for any of them that they didn't think about the men they served with, who never got to enjoy the world without war.

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_**Fear not my lovelies there will be one more chapter to come! Love you all and remember to REVIEW!**_


	39. Home

_**Hey guys! Well here it is, the last chapter. Anyway I would like to thank the following…  
**__LouiseJames, hodhod2011danger, Dreamcloud123, Aella Leto, Molly, Liliesshadow __**and**__ LillianaKay2011. __**And a special thanks to my girl **__Heartbeat77. __**Love you!  
Thanks all and enjoy!**_

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"Luz, why did you make me dress like this?" Adriana asked pulling nervously at the soft, red fabric.

"Come on," he said taking her hand and pulling her toward him and holding up a blindfold.

"And what do you think you're going to do with that?" she asked crossing her arms.

"Jesus you think you'd trust me after we spend all of World War II together," he said under his breath as he tied the cloth behind her head. "Now come on."

Luz led the way down the street and suddenly the noise of the street was gone and the ground was squishy under her red heels.

"Luz what's going on?" she asked grasping his hand tightly and trying to pull the blindfold off.

"Stop it," he said slapping her hand away. "You'll see."

"Where are you taking me?" she asked desperately trying to see through the thick cloth.

"We're here."

"Can I take the blindfold off?" she asked as he pulled his hand out of hers.

There was no response for a second then Luz answered from her left. She quickly pulled the cloth from her face. For a second she blinked to adjust her eyes to the dim light. They were outside in a small clearing. The huge, gnarled trees stretched their old limbs out above Adriana, seeming to try and touch one another. Up the tree trunks and out across the branches were little lights twinkling gently. There were paper lanterns hung off the limbs as well. Their combined light made the little clearing cheerful. There were flowers with pastel petals growing up around the trunks of the trees and the bright grass contrasted sharply with the washed out colors. The clearing was relatively large and Adriana was standing at one end and Luz was in the middle.

Luz was wearing a black blazer with a white button down shirt. He was tieless, wearing black slacks and no shoes.

"Luz," Adriana said, mouth falling open. "How did you do all of this?"

"I had a little help," he said with a cheeky smile.

As he said it, eighteen figures stepped from the shadows on the other side of the trees. At first Adriana was confused until she met the piercing blue gaze of Buck Compton. Instantly the other men's faces came into sharp focus and Adriana let out a cry of delight. Adriana threw herself into the arms of Buck, who was closest to her. For a few minutes there was a whir of excitement as she was passed from man to man until she reached the only other woman who was on Liebgott's arm.

"Hattie!" she cried, throwing herself at the tall woman. "Hattie you look beautiful!"

She backed up and held her friend at arm's length. She was wearing a black sleeveless dress with ruffles around the bottom, top and up the left side of the front skirt. Adriana glanced around the circle of men. Buck, Perconte, Bull, Babe, Lip, Doc Roe, Malarkey, Winters, Nixon, Martin, Talbert, Toye, Guarnere, Shifty, Liebgott, Hattie and even Speirs were smiling at her.

"Well Jesus boys, you all clean up good!" Adriana said smiling widely at them. "So what the hell are you all here for?"

They all glanced around at each other then Luz.

"What you didn't tell her?" Perconte asked hitting his friend on the shoulder.

"She hasn't shut up since she saw all of you," Luz answered him.

"Tell me what?" Adriana asked looking at Luz.

Luz smiled at Perconte then took Adriana by the hand. He pulled her away from the circle of men.

"Adriana I have loved you since the day I met you. Since I first hit you in the face with a rolled up sock at Toccoa."

"Almost hit her," Toye reminded him. "You're not that great of a shot."

Luz glared at him, then turned his attention back to Adriana.

"I have loved you since I ALMOST hit you with a sock."

Adriana laughed.

"No you didn't," Adriana said waving a hand.

He grabbed it out of the air.

"I did. You wanna know the first thing I thought when I saw you?"

"_Muck get over here you bastard!" Luz shouted vaulting over a cot and chasing his friend around the room._

_ He jumped up on a bed and aimed a rolled up sock at Muck and threw it as hard as he could. Muck ducked as the sock soared over his head, and right across the face of someone walking in. At first, Luz thought it was Sobel or Sink, but it wasn't. It was a man Luz had never seen._

"Wait, wait, you loved me the first time you saw me? I was pretending to be a man the first time you saw me," Adriana said getting a snicker from the surrounding men.

"I thought it was strange too," Luz said rolling his eyes. "Anyway…"

_ He was strangely feminine. So much so that Luz found him attractive. His cheekbones were high with a small pointy nose. His jaw line was strangely defined and his cheeks, oddly hairless._

"_Whoa easy Luz, you almost hit the new guy!" Muck said jogging to him. "Hey new guy. The names Muck."_

"_Adrian," he said and shook his hand._

_ His voice was strange. He was either far too young to be in the army, and trying to disguise his voice, or he was a woman trying to disguise his voice._

"_That asshole who almost took off your nose is George Luz. He doesn't have the best aim."_

_ Luz didn't even respond to Muck's jab. He was too busy watching 'Adrian.' He was pretty for a guy. His eyes were a blue grey and his helmet sat strangely on his head, like his hair was too big. Luz shook his head trying to get rid of the feeling that was sitting in the pit of his stomach, but it wouldn't leave._

"It never went away," Luz said finishing the story.

Adriana had her eyebrows raised.

"So you would have been gay for me, had I actually been a man?"

Luz shrugged.

"I suppose so."

Adriana raised her eyebrows.

"Luz you're crazy."

"I know," Luz said kneeling in front of her. "Would you like to see how crazy I get around our kids someday?"

Adriana suddenly realized what was happening and tears sprung to her eyes.

"Oh Luz-" she said quietly.

"Adriana Roosevelt, will you be with me forever?"

"Oh Luz," she whispered again. "Yes of course I will!"

She threw herself at him, knocking them both to the ground. Luz rolled them over and cupped her face in his hands and captured her lips. For a moment they kissed until Perconte tapped him on the back of the head.

"You aint official until you have this buddy," he reminded Luz.

Luz smiled and took the little black box from his friend and turned to Adriana. He set her on her knees and he got on his across from her. She clenched her hands together in anticipation as she watched him open the box with trembling fingers.

"Adriana Roosevelt, will you marry me?"

She held back her cry of delight, nodded vigorously and stuck out her left hand. He grinned and extended her long fingers. For a moment he held them there, looking at them. He had seen so many things on those fingers, but never a ring. Those long, thin fingers had shot a gun, thrown grenades, choked the life from someone and held blood in people's bodies. As he looked he could still see the faintest stain of crimson around her fingernails. That same stain was on every person's nails in that circle. So many nights he had held her small, fragile hands, telling her it would be alright. Promising her they would get home. Luz looked at his own hands. As he felt her hand in his, he felt the same calluses on her palms as were on his. They were the same. They had been through the same shit and Luz realized at that moment that he would never love anyone else. How could he? Not many other women had been through the same war as him. Not many other women could hold him in the night when he woke from a nightmare about Normandy or Holland or Foy and remember what it was like. No other woman could tell him she knew how he felt and mean it. Then another thought possessed him. He would never want to love another. He wanted Adriana. He would have wanted her even if he could have had any woman in the world.

"I love you Adriana Roosevelt."

"I love you George Luz."

* * *

_Buck Compton became a prosecutor in Los Angeles. He convicted Sir han Sir han in the murder of Robert Kennedy and was later appointed to the California court of appeals._

_Johnny Martin returned to his job at the railroad, and then started his own construction company. He splits his time between Arizona and a place in Montana._

_Doc Roe died in Louisiana in 1998. He had been a construction contractor._

_Frank Perconte returned to Chicago and worked a postal route as a mail man._

_Bull Randlmen went into the earth moving business in Arkansas._

_Floyd Talbert they all lost touch with after that. Everyone but Adriana. She and Talb remained close friends until his death in 1981._

_Carwood Lipton became a glassmaking executive in charge of factories all over the world. He has a nice life in North Carolina._

_Harry Welsh married Kitty Grogan and became an administrator for the Wilksbury Pennsylvania school system._

_Not surprisingly, Ronald Speirs stayed in the army, served in Korea, and in 1958 returned to Germany as Governor of Spandau prison. He retired a Lt. Colonel._

_Lewis Nixon had some tough times after the war. He was divorced a few times, then in 1956 he married a woman named Grace and everything came together for him. He spent the rest of his life with her traveling the world until his death in 1995._

_Dick Winters took up Nixon's job offer and was a personnel manager at the Nixon Nitration works until he was called back into service in 1950 to train officers and Rangers, but he chose not to go to Korea. He'd had enough of war. He stayed around Hershey Pennsylvania where he finally found a farm. A little peaceful corner of the world._

_Joe Liebgott returned to San Francisco and drove his cab, then on April 30th 1946, a year to the day since Adolf Hitler killed himself, he married Hattie McDurman. They did indeed have a lot of 'little Liebgotts running around.' They had two boys and three girls._

_George Luz, married Adriana Roosevelt on June 6th 1946, three years after they jumped into Normandy. He and Adriana had three children; a girl named Madeline Grace, and twin boys named Bill and Joe. As a testament to his character, 1600 people attended his funeral in 1998. Adriana outlived her husband by two years, dying on January first 2000._

_No matter what any of them did with their lives after the war, they all were grateful they got to enjoy a life without it, and they never forgot about their brothers who died and were buried in Normandy, Holland, France and Germany._

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_**Ok guys that's it! I seriously cried a little bit. The end took me this long because I was trying to get a PERFECT ending. I think I did pretty good, but tell me what you guys think on how I did on the ending. I'm really sad for it to be over, but hey maybe I can work on another BOB story… I'm open to suggestions guys!**_

_**LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME FOR SO LONG!**_


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